The Bible history

NOV 5 1910

Division "B^W'^I

ction

THE EXODUS '^^

i NOV 5 191(1 r

^il

THE WANDERINGS IN THE 1

WILDERNESS.

BY THE

REV. DR. EDERSHEIM,

author of

"The World before the Flood, and the History of the Patriarchs;'

"The Temple, its Ministry and Services," etc.

LONDON:
THE RELIGIOUS TRACT SOCIETY,

56 Paternoster Row, 65 St. Paul's Churchyard,
And 164 Piccadilly,

manchestfr: corporation street, Brighton: western koad.

Uniform with this Work.

THE WORLD BEFORE THE FLOOD, AND THE HIS-
TORY OF THE PATRIARCHS. By the Rev. Dr. Eders-
HEiM. With Map, crown 8vo. 7.S. 6d. cloth boards.

" The author evinces learning, power of arrangement, and, what
is far better, an earnest, reverent spirit." — John Bull.

"Dr. Edersheim always writes with clearness and force. He
has here found a subject which is very suitable to his style. He
brings learning to bear on his theme with great freshness ; and
contrives always to be interesting." — The A oncon/ormist.

By the same Author.
THE TEMPLE: its Mimstkv and Services at the Time
OF Jesus Christ. Imperial i6mo. Handsomely bound, 5J.
cloth boards.

"The first thing that strikes the reader is the author's mastery of
the subject. He knows the varied topics he discusses better than
most scholars in England : is able to correct the mistakes of critics,
and to supply accurate information. The style, too, is clear and
good, sometimes very graphic, as in the concluding pages of the
excellent chapter on the Passover. There are few who will not
learn from a volume which has the results, with little of the show of
learning." — The At/tenceum.

"A vast amount of learning has been brought to a focus in this
little book. The result is the very best compendium which we have
yet seen of information of this kind. The paper, type, and general
appearance are faultless." — Literary Churchman.

^,JJ^^^^^^^^^

^.c.

T^HE period covered by the central books of the Pentateuch is, in
^ many respects, the most important in Old Testament history,
not only so far as regards Israel, but the Church at all times.
Opening with centuries of silence and seeming Divine forgetfulness
during the bondage of Egypt, the pride and power of Pharaoh are
suddenly broken by a series of miracles, culminating in the deliver-
ance of Israel and the destruction of Egypt's host. In that Paschal
night and under the blood-sprinkling, Israel as a nation is born of
God, and the redeemed people are then led forth to be consecrated at
the Mount by ordinances, laws, and judgments. Finally, we are
shown the manner in which Jehovah deals with His people, both in
judgment and in mercy, till at the last He safely brings them to the
promised inheritance. In all this we see not only the history of the
ancient people of God, but also a grand type of the redemption and
the sanctification of the Church. There is yet another aspect of it,
since this narrative exhibits the foundation of the Church in the
Covenant of God, and also the principles of Jehovah's government
for all time. For, however great the difference in the development,
the essence and character of the covenant of grace are ever the
same. The Old and New Testaments are essentially one — not two
covenants but one, gradually unfolding into full perfectness, "Jesus
Christ Himself being the chief corner stone" of the foundation
which is alike that of the apostles and prophets.^

There is yet a further consideration besides the intrinsic

1 Eph. ii. 20.

4 Preface.

importance of this histor)\ It has, especially of late, been so
boldly misrepresented, and so frequently misunderstood, or else it is
so often cursorily read — neither to understanding nor yet to profit —
that it seemed desirable to submit it anew to special investigation,
following the sacred narrative consecutively from Chapter to
Chapter, and almost from Section to Section. In so doing, I have
endeavoured to make careful study of the original text, with the
help of the best critical appliances. So far as I am conscious,
I have not passed by any real difficulty, nor yet left unheeded
any question that had a reasonable claim to be answered. If this
implied a more detailed treatment, I hope it may also, with God's
blessing, render the volume more permanently useful. Further, it
has been my aim, by the aid of kindred studies, to shed additional
light upon the narrative, so as to render it vivid and pictorial, en-
abling readers to realise for themselves the circumstances under
which an event took place. Thus I have in the first two chapters
sought to read the history of Israel in Egypt by the light of its
monuments, and also to portray the political, social, and religious
state of the people prior to the Exodus. Similarly, when following
the wanderings of Israel up to the eastern bank of the Jordan, I
have availed myself of the best recent geographical investigations,
that so the reader might, as it were, see before him the route
followed by Israel, the scenery, and all other accessories.

It need scarcely be said, that in studying this narrative the
open Bible should always be at hand. But I may remind my-
self and others, that the only real understanding of any portion
of Holy Scripture is that conveyed to the heart by the Spirit of God.
And, indeed, throughout, my great object has been, not to supersede
the constant and prayerful use of the Bible itself, but rather to lead
to those Scriptures, which alone " are able to make wise unto
salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus."

A. E.

IlENiACH, Bournemouth :
February^ 1876.

....,^...-'^:^^:^^M:i^^:^r^

r^^

CHAPTER I.

PAGE

Egypt and its History during the Stay of the Chil-
dren OF Israel, as Illustrated by the Bible and
Ancient Monuments 9

CHAPTER II.

The Children of Israel in Egypt — Their Residences, •
Occupations, Social Arrangements, Constitution,
and Religion — "A new King who knew not Joseph" 24.

CHAPTER III.

The Birth, and the Training of Moses, both in Egypt

and in Midian, as Preparatory to his Calling . 35

CHAPTER IV.

The Call of Moses — The Vision of the Burning Bush —
The Commission to Pharaoh and to Israel — The
three " Signs," and their Meaning ....

44

CHAPTER V.

Moses Returns into EoYPTr— The Dismissal of Zipporah
— Moses meets Aaron — Their Reception by the
Children of Israel — Remarks on the Hardening of
Pharaoh's Heart 55

Contents.

CHAPTER VI.

Moses and Aaron deliver their Message to Pharaoh —
Increased Oppression of Israel — Discouragement of
Moses — Aaron shows a Sign— General View and
Analysis of each of the Ten *' Strokes," or Plagues 63

CHAPTER VII.

The Passover and its Ordinances — The Children of
Israel leave Egypt— Their First Resting-places —
The Pillar of Cloud and of Fire — Pursuit of
Pharaoh — Passage through the Red Sea— Destruc-
tion OF Pharaoh and his Host — The Song "on the
other side " 78

%Vt SEanbcrmg^ in the SBilberne^^.

CHAPTER VIII.

The Wilderness of Shur — The Sinaitic Peninsula — Its
Scenery and Vegetation — Its Capabilities of Sup-
porting A Population — The Wells of Moses — Three
Days' March to Marah— Elim— Road to the Wil-
derness OF Sin— Israel's Murmuring— The Miracu-
lous Provision of the Quails — The Manna . . 89

CHAPTER IX.

Rephidim— The Defeat of Amalek, and its meaning —
The Visit of Jethro and its symbolical import . 98

CHAPTER X.

Israel at the foot of Mount Sinai — The Preparations
for the Covenant — Thk "Ten Words," and thktr
meaning IC5

Contents,

CHAPTER XI.

Civil and Social Ordinances of Israel as the People
OF God — Their Religious Ordinances in their
National Aspect — The "Covenant made by Sacri-
fice," and the Sacrificial Meal of Acceptance . 114

CHAPTER XII.

The Pattern seen on the Mountain — The Tabernacle,
the Priesthood, and the Services in their Arrange-
ment AND Typical Meaning — The Sin of the Golden
Calf — The Divine Judgment — The Plea of Moses —
God's gracious Forgiveness — The Vision of the Glory
OF the Lord vouchsafed to Moses .... 121

CHAPTER XIII.

Moses a Second Time on the Mount — On his Return
his Face shineth — The Rearing of the Tabernacle
— Its Consecration by the seen Presence of
Jehovah 133

CHAPTER XIV.

Analysis of the Book of Leviticus — The Sin of Nadab

and Abihu — Judgment upon the Blasphemer . . 137

CHAPTER XV. I

Analysis of the Book of Numbers— The Numbering of
Israel, and that of the Levites — Arrangement of
THE Camp, and its Symbolical Import — The March 143

CHAPTER XVL

The Offerings of the "Princes" — The setting apart
of the Levites — Second Observance of the Pass-
over 152

PAGB

Contents,

CHAPTER XVII.

Departure from Sinai — March into the Wilderness
OF Paran — At Taberah and Kibroth-hattaavah

CHAPTER XVIII.

Murmuring of Miriam and Aaron — The Spies sent to
Canaan— Their "Evil Report" — Rebellion of the
People, and Judgment pronounced upon them — The
Defeat of Israel "unto Hormah" . . . .163

CHAPTER XIX.

The Thtrty-eight Years in the Wilderness — The
Sabbath-breaker — The Gainsaying of Korah and of
his Associates — Murmuring of the People ; the
Plague, and how it was stayed — Aaron's Rod

BUDDING, blossoming, AND BEARING FrUIT . . . I7I

CHAPTER XX.

The Second Gathering of Israel in Kadesh — The Sin
OF Moses and Aaron — Embassy to Edom — Death of
Aaron — Retreat of Israel from the borders of
Edom — Attack by the Canaanitish King of Arad . 184

CHAPTER XXI.
Journey of the Children of Israel in "compassing"

THE LAND OF EdOM — ThE " FiERY SeRPENTS " AND THE

"Brazen Serpent" — Israel enters the land of
the Amorites — Victories over Sihon and over Og,
the kings of the Amorites and of Bashan — Israel

CAMPS IN " the lowlands OF MOAB," CLOSE BY THE

Jordan .••••••••. 193

Of

Mt::, iVlAR1882
THEOLOGICAL

THE EXODUS.

CHAPTER I.

€iJBP^t anb its ^istorg iburinij the §>in^ xrf the Children
ijf Israel, as Ulustratei) hg the ^ible mxb ^nrient
J^onuments.

(Exodus i. 1-7.)

THE devout Student of history cannot fail to recognise it as
a wonderful arrangement of Providence, that the begin-
ning and the close of Divine revelation to mankind were both
connected with the highest intellectual culture of the world.
When the apostles went forth into the Roman world, they
could avail themselves of the Greek language, then universally
spoken, of Grecian culture and modes of thinking. And what
Greece was to the world at the time of Christ, that and much
more had Egypt been when the children of Israel became a
God-chosen nation. Not that in either case the truth of God
needed help from the wisdom of this world. On the contrary,
in one sense, it stood opposed to it. And yet while history
pursued seemingly its independent course, and philosophy,
science, and the arts advanced apparently without any reference
to Revelation, all were in the end made subservient to the
furtherance of the kingdom of God. And so it always is. God
marvellously uses natural means for supernatural ends, and
maketh all things work tog^ether to His glory as well as for the
good of His people.

10 The Exodus.

It was, indeed, as we now see it, most important that the
children of Israel should have been brought into Egypt, and
settled there for centuries before becoming an independent
nation. The early history of the sons of Jacob must have
shown the need alike of their removal from contact with the
people of Canaan, and of their being fused in the furnace of
affliction, to prepare them for inheriting the land promised unto
their fathers. This, however, might have taken place in any
other country than Egypt. Not so their training for a nation.
For that, Egypt offered the best, or rather, at the time, the only
suitable opportunities. True, the stay there in\olved also
pecuhar dangers, as their after history proved. But these would
have been equally encountered under any other circumstances,
while the benefits they derived through intercourse with the
Egyptians were peculiar and unique. There is yet another
aspect of the matter. When standing before King Agrippa,
St. Paul could confidently appeal to the publicity of the history
of Christ, as enacted not in some obscure corner of a barbarous
land, but in full view of the Roman world : " For this thing
was not done in a corner."^ And so Israel's bondage also and
God's marvellous deliverance took place on no less conspicuous
a scene than that of the ancient world-empire of Egypt.

Indeed, so close was the connection between Israel and
Egypt, that it is impossible properly to understand the history
of the former without knowing something of the latter. We
shall therefore devote this preliminary chapter to a brief
description of Egypt. In general, however historians may differ
as to the periods when particular events had taken place, the
land itself is full of reminiscences of Israel's story. These have
been brought to light by recent researches, which almost year
by year add to our stock of knowledge. And here it is specially
remarkable, that every fresh historical discovery tends to shed
light upon, and to confirm the Biblical narratives. Yet some
of the principal arguments against the Bible were at one time
derived from the supposed history of Egypt ! Thus while
* Acts xxvi. 26.

Egyptian Papyri illustrating Scripture. ii

men continually raise fresh objections against Holy Scripture,
those formerly so confidently relied upon have been removed
by further researches, made quite independently of the Bible,
just as an enlarged knowledge will sweep away those urged in
our days. Already the Assyrian monuments, the stone which
records the story of Moab,^ the temples, the graves, and the
ancient papyri of Egypt have been made successively to tell
each its own tale, and each marvellously bears out the truth of
the Scripture narrative. Let us see what we can learn from
such sources of the ancient state of Egypt, so far as it may serve
to illustrate the history of Israel.

The connection between Israel and Egypt may be said to have
begun with the visit of Abram to that country. On his arrival
there he must have found the people already in a high state of
civilisation. The history of the patriarch gains fresh light by
monuments and old papyri. Thus a papyrus (now in the British
Museum), known as The Two Brothers^ and which is probably
the oldest work of fiction in existence, proves that Abram had
occasion for fear on account of Sarai. It tells of a Pharaoh, who
sent two armies to take a fair woman from her husband and then
to murder him. Another papyrus (at present in Berlin) records
how the wife and children of a foreigner were taken from him
by a Pharaoh. Curiously enough, this papyrus dates from
nearly the time when the patriarch was in Egypt. From this
period also we have a picture in one of the tombs, representing
the arrival of a nomad chief, like Abram, with his family and
dependants, who seek the protection of the prince. The new-
comer is received as a person of distinction. To make the
coincidence the more striking — though this chief is not thought
to have been Abram — he is evidently of Semitic descent, wears
a " coat of many colours," is designated Hyk^ or prince, the
equivalent of the modern Sheich^ or chief of a tribe, and even
bears the name of Ab-shah, " father of sand," a term resembling
that of Ab-raham^ the "father of a multitude."^ Another

' 2 Kings iii.

- We have here to refer to the masterly essay on "The Bearings of

12 The Exodus,

Egyptian story — that of Sancha, " the son of the sycomoie,"
• — reminds us so far of that of Joseph, that its hero is a foreign
nomad, who rises to the highest rank at Pharaoh's court and
becomes his chief counsellor. These are instances how
Egyptian history illustrates and confirms that of the Bible.

Of the forced employment of the children of Israel in
building and repairing certain cities, we have, as will presently
be shown, sufficient confirmation in an Egyptian inscription
lately discovered. We have also a pictorial representation of
Semitic captives, probably Israelites, making bricks in the manner
described in the Bible ; and yet another, dating from a later
reign, in which Israelites — either captives of war, or, as has been
recently suggested, mercenaries who had stayed behind after
the Exodus — are employed for Pharaoh in drawing stones, or
cutting them in the quarries, and in completing or enlarging the
fortified city of Rameses, which their fathers had formerly
built. The builders delineated in the second of these repre-
sentations are expressly called Aperu^ the close correspondence
of the name with the designation Hebrew^ even in its English
form, being apparent. Though these two sets of representations
date, in all probability, from a period later than the Exodus,
they remarkably illustrate what we read of the state and the
occupations of the children of Israel during the period of their
oppression. Nor does this exhaust the bearing of the Egyptian
monuments on the early history of Israel. In fact, we can
trace the two histories almost contemporaneously, and see how
remarkably the one sheds light upon the other.

In general, our knowledge of Egyptian history is derived
from the monufnents^ of which we have already spoken, from
certain references in Greek historians^ which are not of much
value, and especially from the historical work of Mandho^
an Egyptian priest who wrote about the year 250 B.C. At

Egyptian History upon the Pentateuch," appended to vol. i. of what is
commonly known as The Speaker's Covimentary. For an engraving of this
remarkable fresco, see The Land of the Pharaohs: Egypt and Sina/,
Jlliistrated by Pen and Pc7icil, p. 102 (Religious Tract Society).

Egyptian History. 13

that time the monuments of Egypt were still almost intact.
Manetho had access to them all; he was thoroughly con-
versant with the ancient literature of his country, and he
wrote under the direction and patronage of the then monarch
of the land. Unfortunately, however, his work has been lost,
and the fragments of it preserved exist only in the distorted
form which Josephus has given them for his own purposes, and
in a chronicle, written by a learned Christian convert of the
third century {Julius Africa?ms). But this latter also has been
lost, and we know it only from a similar work written a
century later (by Eusebius^ bishop of Caesarea), in which
the researches of Africanus are embodied.^ Such are the
difficulties before the student ! On the other hand, both
Africanus and Eusebius gathered their materials in Egypt itself,
and were competent for their task ; Africanus, at least, had the
work of Manetho before him ; and, lastly, by universal consent,
the monuments of Egypt remarkably confirm what were the
undoubted statements of Manetho. Like most heathen chro-
nologies, Manetho's catalogue of kings begins with gods, after
which he enumerates thirty dynasties, bringing the history
down to the year 343 B.C. Now some of these dynasties were
evidently not successive, but contemporary, that is, they present
various lines of kings who at one and the same time ruled over
different portions of Egypt. This especially applies to the
so-called 7th, 8th, 9th, loth, and nth dynasties. It is wholly
impossible to conjecture what period of time these may have
occupied. After that we have more solid ground. We know
that under the 12th dynasty the whole of Egypt was united
under one sway. As we gather from the monuments, the
country was in a very high state of prosperity and civilisation.
At the beginning of this dynasty we suppose the visit of
Abram to have taken place. The reign of this 12th dynasty
lasted more than two centuries,^ and either at its close or at the

' Even this exists only in its Armenian translation, not in the original.
* We must again refer those who wish fuller information to the essay
already mentioned, the conclusions of which we have virtually adopted.

14 The Exodus,

beginning of the 13th dynasty we place the accession and rule
of Joseph. From the fourth king of the 13th to the accession
of the 1 8th dynasty Egyptian history is almost a blank. That
period was occupied by the rule of the so-called Hyksos, or
Shepherd kings, a foreign and barbarous race of invaders, hated
and opposed by the people, and hostile to their ancient civili-
sation and religion. Although Josephus represents Manetho
as assigning a very long period to the reign of " the Shepherds,"
he gives only six names. These and these only are corroborated
by Egyptian monuments, and we are warranted in inferring that
these alone had really ruled over Egypt. The period occupied
by their reign might thus amount to between two and three
centuries, which agrees with the Scripture chronology.

" The Shepherds" were evidently an eastern race, and probably
of Phenician origin. Thus the names of the two first kings in
their Ust are decidedly Semitic {Salatis, " mighty," " ruler," and
Beon, or Benon, " the son of the eye," or, the " beloved one ") ;
and there is evidence that the race brought with it the worship
of Baal and the practice of human sacrifices — both of Phenician
origin. It is important to keep this in mind, as we shall see
that there had been almost continual warfare between the J^he-
nicians along the west coast of Palestine and the Hittites, and the
native Egyptian kings, who, while they ruled, held them in
subjection. This constant animosity also explains why, not
without good reason, " every shepherd was an abomination "
unto the real native Egyptians.^ It also explains why the
Shepherd kings left the Israelitish shepherds unmolested in the
land of Goshen, where they found them. Thus a comparison
of Scripture chronology with the history of Ejypt, and the
evidently peaceful, prosperous state of the country, united
under the rule of one king, as described in the Bible, lead us to
the conclusion that Joseph's stay there must have taken place
at the close of the 12th, or, at latest, at the commencement of
the 13th dynasty. He could not have come during the rule of
the Hyksos, for then Egypt was in a distracted, divided, and
» Gen. xlvi. 34.

The Ancie7tt Religion of Egypt. 15

chaotic state; and it could not have been later, for after the
Shepherd kings had been expelled and native rulers restored,
no " new king," no new dynasty, " arose up over Egypt." On
the other hand, the latter description exactly applies to a king
who, on his restoration, expelled the Hyksos.

And here the monuments of Egypt again afford remarkable
confirmation of the history of Joseph. For one thing, the
names of three of the Pharaohs of the 13th dynasty bear a
striking resemblance to that given by the Pharaoh of the Bible
to Joseph (Zaphnath-paaneah). Then we know that the Pharaohs
of the 12 th dynasty stood in a very special relationship to the
priest city of On,^ and that its high-priest was most probably
always a near relative of Pharaoh. Thus the monuments of
that period enable us to understand the history of Joseph's
marriage. But they also throw light on a question of far
greater importance — how so devout and pious a servant of the
Lord as Joseph could have entered into such close relationship
with the priesthood of Egypt. Here our knowledge of the
most ancient religion of Egypt enables us to furnish a complete
answer. Undoubtedly, all mankind had at first some know-
ledge of the one true God, and a pure religion inherited from
Paradise. This primeval religion seems to have been longest
preserved in Egypt. Every age indeed witnessed fresh cor-
ruptions, till at last that ot Egypt became the most abject
superstition. But the earliest Egyptian religious records, as
preserved in that remarkable work. The Ritual for the Dead,
disclose a different state of things. There can be no doubt
that, divested of all later glosses, they embodied belief in
"the unity, eternity, and self-existence of the unknown Deity,"
in the immortality of the soul, and in future rewards and punish-
ments, and that they inculcated the highest duties of morality.
The more closely we study these ancient records of Egypt,
the more deeply are we impressed with the high and pure
character of its primeval religion and legislation. And when
the children of Israel went into the wilderness, they took, in
* Gen. xli. 45.

1 6 The Exodus.

this respect also, with them from Egypt many lessons which
had not to be learned anew, though this one grand funda-
mental truth had to be acquired, that the Deity unknown to
the Egyptians was Jehovah^ the living and the true God.
We can therefore understand how such close connection
between Joseph and the Egyptian priesthood was both pos-
sible and likely.

But this is not all. Only under a powerful native ruler
could the redivision of the land and the rearrangement of
taxation, which Joseph proposed, have taken place. Moreover,
we know that under the rule of the last great king of this
native dynasty (the 13th) a completely new system of Nile-
irrigation was introduced, such as we may well believe would
have been devised to avoid another period of famine, and,
strangest of all, a place by the artificial lake made at that time
bears the name Fi-aneh, " the house of Ufe," which is sin-
gularly like that given by Pharaoh to Joseph. If we now pass
over the brief 14th dynasty and the Hyksos period, when we
may readily believe Israel remained undisturbed in Goshen, we
come to the restoration of a new native dynasty (the so-called
i8th). After the " Shepherds" had been expelled, the Israelitish
population, remaining behind in the borderland of Goshen,
would naturally seem dangerously large to the "new king,"
the more so as the Israelites were kindred in descent and
occupation to the " Shepherds,"^ and had been befriended by
them. Under these circumstances a wise monarch might seek
to weaken such a population by forced labour. For this
purpose he employed them in building fortress-cities, such as
Pithom and Raamses.^ Raamses bears the name of the district
in which it is situated, but PitJiom means "the fortress of
foreigners," thus indicating its origin. Moreover, we learn
from the monuments that this "new king" (Aahmes i.) em-
ployed in building his fortresses what are called the Fenc/iu^-
a. word meaning " bearers of the shepherd's staff," and which
therefore would exactly describe the Israelites.

* Ex. i. 9, 10. ^ Ex. i. II.

Egyptian History illustrating the Exodtis, 17

The period between the " new king " of the Bible (Aahmes i.)
and Thothmes 11. (the second in succession to him), when we
suppose the Exodus to have taken place, quite agrees with
the reckoning of Scripture. Now this Thothmes 11. began his
reign very brilliantly. But after a while there is a perfect
blank in the monumental records about him. But we read of
a general revolt after his death among the nations whom his
father had conquered. Of course, one could not expect to find
on Egyptian monuments an account of the disasters which the
nation sustained at the Exodus, nor how Pharaoh and his
host had perished in the Red Sea. But we do find in his
reign the conditions which we should have expected under such
circumstances, viz., a brief, prosperous reign, then a sudden
collapse ; the king dead ; no son to succeed him ; the throne
occupied by the widow of the Pharaoh, and for twenty years
no attempt to recover the supremacy of Egypt over the
revolted nations in Canaan and east of the Jordan. Lastly,
the character of his queen, as it appears on the monuments, is
that of a proud and bitterly superstitious woman, just such
as we would have expected to encourage Pharaoh in
*' hardening his heart" against Jehovah. But the chain of
coincidences does not break even here. From the Egyptian
documents we learn that in the preceding reign — that is, just
before the children of Israel entered the desert of Sinai — the
Egyptians ceased to occupy the mines which they had till then
worked in that peninsula. Further, we learn that, during the
latter part of Israel's stay in the wilderness, the Egyptian king,
Thothmes iii., carried on and completed his wars in Canaan,
and that just immediately before the entry of Israel into
Palestine the great confederacy of Canaanitish kings against
him was quite broken up. This explains the state in which
Joshua found the country, so different from that compact
power which forty years before had inspired the spies with
such terror ; and also helps us to understand how, at the time
of Joshua, each petty king just held his own city and district,
and how easily the fear of a nation, by which even the dreaded

c

1 8 The Exodus.

Pharaoh and his host had perished, would fall upon the inha-
bitants of the land (compare also Balaam's words in Numb.
xxiii. 22; xxiv. 8). We may not here follow this connection
between the two histories any farther. But all through the
troubled period of the early Judges down to Barak and
Deborah, Egyptian history, as deciphered from the monuments,
affords constant illustration and confirmation of the state of
Canaan and the history of Israel, as described in the Bible.
Thus did Providence work for the carrying out of God's
purposes, and so remarkably does He in our days raise up
witnesses for His Word, where their testimony might least have
been expected.

We remember that Abram was at the first driven by famine
into Egypt. The same cause also led the brothers of Joseph
to seek there corn for then: sustenance. For, from the earliest
times, Egypt was the great granary of the old world. The
extraordinary fertility of the country depends, as is well
known, on the annual overflow of the Nile, caused in its turn
by rains in the highlands of Abyssinia and Central Africa. So
far as the waters of the Nile cover the soil, the land is like a
fruitful garden ; beyond it all is desolate wilderness. Even in
that " land of wonders," as Egypt has been termed, the Nile is
one of the grand outstanding peculiarities. Another, as we
have seen, consists in its monuments. These two landmarks
may conveniently serve to group together what our space will
still allow us to say of the country and its people.

The name of the country, Egypt (in Greek Ai-gypfos),
exactly corresponds to the Egyptian designation Kah-Ptah,
" the land of Ptah" — one of their gods — and from it the name
of Copts seems also derived. In the Hebrew Scriptures its
name is Mizraim^ that is, "the two Mazors^' which again
corresponds with another Egyptian name for the country,
Chem (the same as "the land of Ham"^), both Mazor and
CJwn meaning in their respective languages the red mud or
dark soil of which the cultivated part of the country consisted.
* Ps. cv. 23, 27.

The Land of Egypt. 19

It was called "the two Mazors," probably because of its
ancient division into Upper and Lower Egypt. The king of
Upper Egypt was designated by a title whose initial sign was
a bent reed, which illustrates such passages as 2 Kings xviii. 2 1 ;
Isaiah xxxvi. 6 ; Ezekiel xxix. 6 ; while the rulers of Lower
Egypt bore the title of "bee," which may be referred to in
Isaiah vii. 18.^ The country occupies less than 10,000 square
geographical miles, of which about 5,600 are at present, and
about 8,000 were anciently, fit for cultivation. Scripture
history has chiefly to do with Lower Egypt, which is the
northern part of the country, while the most magnificent of
the monuments are in Upper, or Southern, Egypt.

As already stated, the fertility of the land depends on the
overflowing of the Nile, which commences to rise about the
middle of June, and reaches its greatest height about the end of
September, when it again begins to decrease. As measured
at Cahro, if the Nile does not rise twenty-four feet, the harvest
will not be very good; anything under eighteen threatens
famine. About the middle of August the red, turbid waters of
the rising river are distributed by canals over the country, and
carry fruitfulness with them. On receding, the Nile leaves
behind it a thick red soil, which its waters had carried from
Central Africa, and over this rich deposit the seed is sown.
Rain there is none, nor is there need for it to fertilise the land.
The Nile also furnishes the most pleasant and even nourishing
water for drinking, and some physicians have ascribed to it
healing virtues. It is scarcely necessary to add that the river
teems with fish. Luxuriously rich and green, amidst sur-
rounding desolation, the banks of the Nile and of its numerous
canals are like a well-watered garden under a tropical sky.
Where climate and soil are the best conceivable, the fer-
tility must be unparalleled. The ancient Egyptians seem to
have also bestowed great attention on their fruit and flower
gardens, which, like ours, were attached to their villas. On the
monuments we see gardeners presenting handsome bouquets ;

' See also the article " Egypt" in Dr. Smith's Dictionary of the Bible.

C 2

20 The Exodus,

gardens traversed by alleys, and adorned with pavilions and
colonnades ; orchards stocked with palms, figs, pomegranates,
citrons, oranges, plums, mulberries, apricots, etc. ; while in the
vineyards, as in Italy, the vines were trained to meet across
wooden rods, and hang down in rich festoons. Such was
the land on which, in the desolate dreariness and famine of
the wilderness, Israel was tempted to look back with sinful
longing !

^Vhen Abram entered Egypt, his attention, like that of the
modern traveller, must have been riveted by the Great Pyramids.
Of these about sixty have been counted, but the largest are
those near the ancient Memphis, which lay about ten miles
above Cairo. Memphis — in Scripture Noph^ — was the capital
of Lower, as Thebes that of Upper, Egypt — the latter being the
Pathros of Scripture.- It is scarcely possible to convey an
adequate idea of the pyramids. Imagine a structure covering
at the base an area of some 65,000 feet, and slanting upwards
for 600 feetj^ or, to give a better idea than these figures
convey, " more than half as long on every side as Westminster
Abbey, eighty feet higher than the top of St. Paul's, covering
thirteen acres of ground, and computed to have contained
nearly seven million tons of solid masonry !" ^ We cannot
here enter on the various purposes intended by these won-
derful structures, some of which, at any rate, were scientific.
Not far from the great pyramids was the ancient On, con-
nected with the history of Joseph, and where IMoses probably
got his early training. But all hereabout is full of deepest
interest — sepulchres, monuments, historical records, and sites
of ancient cities. We are in a land of dreams, and all the
surroundings bear dreamy outlines ; gigantic in their pro-
portions, and rendered even more gigantic by the manner
in which they are disposed. Probably the most magnificent
of these monuments in Upper Egypt — the Pathros of Scripture

* Is. xix. 13 ; Jer. ii. 16 ; xlvi. 14, 19 ; Ezek. xxx. 13, 16.

' Is. xi. II ; Jer. xliv. I, 15. ' The perpendicular height is 479 feet.

* Canon Trevor, Ancient Eg}'J>t, p. 40.

TJie Civilisatio7i of Egypt. 21

— are those of its capital, Thebes, the No, or No Amon of the
Bible. ^ It were impossible in brief space to describe its temple.
The sanctuary itself was small, but opposite to it a court
opened upon a hall into which the great cathedral at Paris
might be placed, without touching the walls on either side !
One hundred and forty columns support this hall, the central
pillars being sixty-six feet high, and so wide that it would take
six men with extended arms to embrace one of them. The
mind gets almost bewildered by such proportions. All around,
the walls bear representations, inscriptions, and records —
among others, those of Shishak, who captured Jerusalem during
the reign of Rehoboam. But the temple itself is almost insigni-
ficant when compared with the approach to it, which was through
a double row of sixty or seventy ram-headed sphinxes, placed
about eleven feet apart from each other. Another avenue led
to a temple which enclosed a lake for funeral rites ; and yet a
third avenue of sphinxes extended a distance of 6000 feet to a
palace. These notices are selected to give some faint idea of
the magnificence of Egypt.

It would be difficult to form too high an estimate of the old-
world culture and civilisation, here laid open before us. The
laws of Egypt seem to have been moderate and wise; its
manners simple and domestic ; its people contented, pros-
perous, and cultured. Woman occupied a very high place, and
polygamy was almost the exception. Science, literature, and
the arts were cultivated ; commerce and navigation carried on,
while a brave army and an efficient fleet maintained the power
of the Pharaohs. Altogether the country seems old in its
civilisation, when alike the earliest sages of Greece and the
lawgivers of Israel learned of its wisdom. But how different
the use which Israel was to make of it from that to which
the philosophers put their lore ! What was true, good, and
serviceable was to enter as an element into the life of Israel.
But this life was formed and moulded quite differently from
that of Egypt. Israel as a nation was born of God ; redeemed
* Jer. xlvi. 25 ; Ezek. xxx. 14-16 ; Nah. iii. 8.

22 The Exodus.

by God ; brought forth by God victorious on the other side
the flood ; taught of God ; trained by God ; and separated for
the service of God. And this God was to be known to them
as Jehovah, the living and the true God. The ideas they had
gained, the knowledge they had acquired, the life they had
learned, even the truths they had heard in Egypt, might be
taken with them, but, as it were, to be baptised in the Red
Sea, and consecrated at the foot of Sinai. Quite behind them
in the far distance lay the Egypt they had quitted, with its
dreamy, gigantic outlines. As the sand carried from the desert
would cover the land, so did the dust of superstition gradually
bury the old truths. We are ready to admit that Israel profited
by what they had seen and learned. But all the more striking
is the final contrast between Egyptian superstition, which
ultimately degraded itself to make gods of almost everything in
nature, and the glorious, spiritual worship of the Israel of God.
That contrast meets us side by side with the resemblance to
what was in Egypt, and becomes all the more evident by their
juxtaposition. Never is the religion of Israel more strikingly
the opposite to that of Egypt than where we discover resem-
blances between the two ; and never are their laws and
institutions more really dissimilar than when we, trace an
analogy between them. Israel may have adopted and adapted
much from Egypt, but it learned only from the Lord God, who,
in every sense of the expression, brought out His people ^vith a
mighty hand, and an outstretched arm !

23

NOTE ON THE BOOK OF EXODUS.

For a clearer understanding, a general outline of the Book of Exodus
may here be given. Like Genesis (see Jlisf. of the Patriarchs, Introd. p.
XY.), it consists of two great Parts, the first describing the redemption of Israel,
and the second the consecration of Israel as the people of God. The first
Part (ch. i.-xv. 21) appropriately ends with "the Song of Moses ;" while,
similarly, the second Part closes with the erection and consecration of the
Tabernacle, in which Jehovah was to dwell in the midst of His people,
and to hold fellowship with them.

Again, each of these two Parts may be arranged into seven Sections
{^scven being the covenant number), as follows :

Part I. : I. Preparatory : Israel increases, and is oppressed in Egypt (i.) ;
birth and preservation of a deliverer (ii.) ;

2. The calling and training of Moses ( iii. iv.) ;

3. His mission to Pharaoh (v.-vii. 7) ;

4. The signs and wonders (vii. 8-xi.) ;

5. Israel is set apart by the Passover, and led forth (xii.-xiii. 16) ;

6. Passage of the Red Sea and destruction of Pharaoh (xiii. 17-xiv.) ;

7. Song ot triumph on the other side (xv. 1-21).
The seven sections of Part II. are as follows :

1. March of the children of Israel to the Mount of God (xv. 22-xvii. 7) ;

2. Twofold attitude of the Gentile nations towards Israel : the enmity of
Amalek, and the friendship of Jethro (xvii. 8-xviii.) ;

3. The covenant at Sinai (xix.-xxiv. 1 1 ) ;

4. Divine directions about making the Tabernacle (xxiv. 12-xxxi.) ;

5. Apostasy of Israel, and their restoration to be the people of God
(xxxii.-xxxiv.) ;

6. Actual construction of the Tabernacle and of its vessels (xxxv.-xxxix.);

7. The setting up and consecration of the Tabernacle (xl.), the latter
corresponding, as closing section of Part II., to the Song of Moses (xv.),
with which the first part had ended (see Keil, Bibel Corn., vol. i., pp.
302-311).

The reader will note these parts and sections in his Bible, and mark
what grandeur and unity there is in the plan of the Book of Exodus, and
how fully it realises the idea of telling the story of the kingdom of God.

24 The Exodus.

CHAPTER II.

ilke Chil^mt ai Israel in (gggpt— '^hetr %tzx^mzt%
©rcupaticns, (S'^^i'^i Arrangements, Canstitnticm, anb
^iigi0n— " ^ neto ^ing tohuj kncto nat Jxrserrh."

(Exodus i. to end.)

THREE centuries and a half intervened between the close of
the Book of Genesis and the events with which that of
Exodus opens. But during that long period the history of the
children of Israel is almost an entire blank. The names of their
families have come down to us, but without any chronicle of
their history ; their final condition at the time of the Exodus is
marked, but without any notice of their social or national de-
velopment. Except for a few brief allusions scattered through
the Old Testament, we should know absolutely nothing of their
state, their life, or their religion, during all that interval. This
silence of three and a half centuries is almost awful in its
grandeur, like the loneliness of Sinai, the mount of God.

Two things had been foretold as marking this period, and
these two alone appear as outstanding facts in the Biblical
narrative. On the boundary of the Holy Land the Lord had
encouraged Israel : " Fear not to go down into Egypt; for I
will there make of thee a great nation."^ And the Book of
Exodus opens with the record that this promise had been
fulfilled, for " the children of Israel were fruitful, and increased
abundantly, and multiplied, and waxed exceeding mighty ; and
the land was filled with them."^ Yet another prediction, made
centuries before to Abram, was to be fulfilled. His seed was
to be " a stranger in a land not theirs," to be enslaved and
afflicted.^ And as the appointed centuries were drawing to a
close, there '* arose up a new king over Egypt," who " evil
entreated our fathers."* Thus, in the darkest period of their
* Gen. xlvi. 3. ^ g^. i. 7. ^ Gen. xv. 13-16. * Acts vii. 19.

Social Condition of Israel in Egypt. 25

bondage, Israel might have understood that, as surely as these
two predictions had been literally fulfilled, so would the twofold
promise also prove true : " I will bring thee up again," and that
" with great substance." And here we see a close analogy
to the present condition of the Jews. In both cases the
promised future stands in marked contrast to the actual state
of things. But, like Israel of old, we also have the " more
sure word of prophecy," as a *' light that shineth in a dark
place until the day dawn."

The closing years of the three and a half centuries since their
entrance into Egypt found Israel peaceful, prosperous, and
probably, in many respects, assimilated to the Egyptians around.
" The fathers " had fallen asleep, but their children still held
undisturbed possession of the district originally granted them.
The land of Goshen, in which they were located, is to this
day considered the richest province of Egypt, and could, even
now, easily support a million more inhabitants than it numbers. ^
Goshen extended between the most eastern of the ancient
seven mouths of the Nile and Palestine. The border-land
was probably occupied by the more nomadic branches of the
family of Israel, to whose flocks its wide tracts would afford
excellent pasturage ; while the rich banks along the Nile and
its canals were the chosen residence of those who pursued
agriculture. Most likely such would also soon swarm across to
the western banks of the Nile, where we find traces of them in
various cities of the land.^ There they would acquire a know-
ledge of the arts and industries of the Egyptians. It seems
quite natural that, in a country which held out such inducements
for it, the majority of the Israelites should have forsaken their
original pursuits of shepherds, and become agriculturists. To
this day a similar change has been noticed in the nomads who
settle in Egypt. Nor was their new life entirely foreign to
their history. Their ancestor, Isaac, had, during his stay
among the Philistines, sowed and reaped.^ Besides, at their

* Robinson's Bibl. Res. (2nd ed.) vol. i., p. 54.
^ Ex. xii. ' Gen. xxvi. 12.

26 The Exodus.

settlement in Egypt, the grant of land — and that the best in
the country — had been made to them " for a possession," a term
implying fixed and hereditary proprietorship.^ Their later
reminiscences of Egypt accord with this view. In the wilderness
they looked back with sinful longing to the time when they had
cast their nets into the Nile, and drawn them in weighted with
fish ; and when their gardens and fields by the waterside had
yielded rich crops — " the cucumbers, and the melons, and the
leeks, and the onions, and the garlick."^ And afterwards, when
Moses described to them the land which they were to inherit,
he contrasted its cultivation with their past experience of
Egypt, " where thou sowedst thy seed, and wateredst it with
thy foot, as a garden of herbs."^ As further evidence of this
change from pastoral to agricultural pursuits, it has also been
remarked that, whereas the patriarchs had possessed camels,
no allusion is made to them in the narrative of their de-
scendants. No doubt this change of occupation served a higher
purpose. For settlement and agriculture imply civihsation, such
as was needed to prepare Israel for becoming a nation.

In point of fact, we have evidence that they had acquired most
of the arts and industries of ancient Egypt. The preparation
of the various materials for the Tabernacle, as well as its con-
struction, imply this. Again, we have such direct statements,
as, for example, that some of the families of Judah were " car-
penters''^ (i Chron. iv. 14), "weavers of fine Egyptian linen"
(ver. 21), and "potters" (ver. 23). These must, of course, be
regarded as only instances of the various trades learned in
Egypt. Nor was the separation between Israel and the
Egyptians such as to amount to isolation. Goshen would, of
course, be chiefly, but not exclusively, inhabited by Israelites.
These would mingle even in the agricultural districts, but,
naturally, much more in the towns, with their Egyptian neigh-
bours. Accordingly, it needed the Paschal provision of the

* Gen. xlvii. ii, 27. ' Numb. xi. 5. ^ Deut. xi. lo.

« The reference is probably to "guilds," such as in Egypt. The word
rendeicd in our Authorised Version "craftsmen," means " carpenters."

Constitution of Israel in Egypt. . 2/

blood to distinguish the houses of the IsraeUtes from those of
the Egyptians;^ while Exodus iii. 22 seems to imply that they
were not only neighbours, but perhaps, occasionally, residents
in the same houses. This also accounts for the '' mixed multi-
tude " that accompanied Israel at the Exodus, and, later on, in
the wilderness, for the presence in the congregation ot offspring
from marriages between Jewish women and Egyptian husbands.^

While the greater part of Israel had thus acquired the settled
habits of a nation, the inhabitants of the border-district between
Goshen and Canaan continued their nomadic life. This
explains how the tribes of Reuben, Gad, and Manasseh pos-
sessed so much larger flocks than their brethren, as afterwards
to claim the wide pasture-lands to the east of Jordan.^ We
have, also, among the records of " ancient stories,"* a notice of
some of the descendants of Judah exercising lordship in Moab,
and we read of a predatory incursion into Gath on the part of
some of the descendants of Ephraim, which terminated fatally.^
It is but fair to assume that these are only instances, mentioned,
the one on account of its signal success, the other on that of its
failure, and that both imply nomadic habits and incursions into
Canaan on the part of those who inhabited the border-land.

But whether nomadic or settled, Israel preserved its ancient
constitidio?i and religion^ though here also we notice modifications
and adaptations, arising from their long settlement in Egypt
The original division of Israel was into twelve tribes, after the
twelve sons of Jacob, an arrangement which continued, although
the sons of Joseph became two tribes (Ephraim and Manasseh),
since the priestly tribe of Levi had no independent political
standing. These twelve tribes were again subdivided into
families (or rather clans), mostly founded by the grandsons of
Jacob, of which we find a record in Numb, xxvi., and which
amounted in all to sixty. From Joshua vii. 14 we learn that

' Ex. xii. 13 2 Ley xxiv. lo.

' Numb, xxxii. 1-4. ^ i Chron. iv. 22.

•'■' The passage i Cliron. vii. 21 is invoh'ed and difficult. But the best
catics have understood it as explained in the text.

28 The Exodus.

those " families " had at that time, if not earlier, branched into
" households," and these again into what is described by the
expression " man by man " (in the Hebrew, Gevarim). The
latter term, however, is really equivalent to our " family," as
appears from a comparison of Josh. vii. 14 with vers. 17, 18.
Thus we have in the oldest times tribes and clans ^ and in those
of Joshua, if not earlier, the clans again branching into house-
holds (kin) and families. The " heads " of those clans and
families were their chiefs; those of the tribes^ "the princes."^
These t^velve princes were " the rulers of the congregation."^
By the side of these rulers, who formed a hereditary aristocracy,
we find two classes of elective officials^ as "representatives" of
" the congregation."* These are designated in Deut. xxix. 10,
as the " elders " and the " officers," or, rather, " scribes." Thus
the rule of the people was jointly committed to the " princes,"
the " elders," and the " officers."^ The institution of " elders "
and of " scribes " had already existed among the children of
Israel in Egypt before the time of Moses. For Moses " gathered
the elders of Israel together," to announce to them his Divine
commission,^ and through them he afterwards communicated
to the people the ordinance of the Passover.' The mention of
" scribes " as " officers " occurs even earlier than that of elders,
and to them, as the lettered class, the Egyptian taskmasters
seem to have entrusted the superintendence of the appointed
labours of the people.^ From the monuments of Egypt we
know what an important part " the scribes " played in that

^ Numb. i. 4, 16, 44; ii. 3, etc. ; vii. 10.

' Ex. xxxiv. 31 ; JN'imb. vii. 2 ; xxx. I ; xxxi. 13 ; xxxii. 2 ; xxxiv. \%.

' Comp. Deu. i. 9-14. * Numb, xxvii. 2.

■' See also Deut. xxxi. 28. In the wilderness a meeting of these three
classes of rulers seems to have been called by blowing the two silver
irmnpets, while blasts from one summoned only a council of the princes
(Numb. x. 3, 4). It deserves special notice that this mixed rule of hereditary
and elective officids continued the constitutional government of the people,
not only during the period of the Judges, but under the Kings. We find
its analogy also in the rule of the Synagogue.

* Ex. iii. 16; iv. 29. ' Ex. xii. 21. ' Ex. v. 6, 14 15, 19.

Religion of Israel 171 Egypt. 29

country, and how constantly their mention recurs. Possibly,
the order of scribes may have been thus introduced among
Israel. As the lettered class, the scribes would naturally be the
intermediaries between their brethren and the Egyptians. We
may, therefore, regard them also as the representatives of learn-
ing, alike Israclitish and Egyptian. That the art of writing was
known to the Israelites at the time of Moses is now generally
admitted. Indeed, Egyptian learning had penetrated into
Canaan itself, and Joshua found its inhabitants mostly in a very
advanced state of civilisation, one of the towns bearing even
the name of Kirjath-sepher^ the city of books, or Kirjath-satmah^
which might almost be rendered " university town."^

In reference to the religion of Israel, it is important to bear
in mind that, during the three and a half centuries since the
death of Jacob, all direct communication from Heaven, whether
by prophecy or in vision, had, so far as we know, wholly ceased.
Even the birth of Moses was not Divinely intimated. In these
circumstances the children of Israel were cast upon that know-
ledge which they had acquired from " the fathers," and which,
undoubtedly, was preserved among them. It need scarcely be
explained, although it shows the wisdom of God's providential
arrangements, that the simple patriarchal forms of worship would
suit the circumstances in Egypt much better than those which
the religion of Israel afterwards received. Three great ohser-
vances here stand out prominently. Around them the faith and
the worship alike of the ancient patriarchs, and afterwards of
Israel, may be said to have clustered. They are : circuvicision,
sacrifices, and the Sabbath. We have direct testimony tliat
the rite of circumcision was observed by Israel in Egypt.'''
As to sacrifices, even the proposal to celebrate a great sacri-
ficial feast in the wilderness,^ implies that sacrificial worship
had maintained its hold upon the people. Lastly, the direc-
tion to gather on the Friday two days' provision of manna,*
and the introduction of the Sabbath command by the word

^ Josh. XV. 15, 49. ^ Ex. iv. 24-26 \ Josh. v. 5.

3 Ex. viii. 25-28. * Ex. xvi. 22.

30 The Exodtis.

" Remember/'^ convey the impression of previous Sabbath
observance on the part of Israel. Indeed, the manner in which
many things, as, for example, the practice of vows, are spoken
of in the law, seems to point back to previous religious rites
among Israel.

Thus far for those outward observances, which indicate how,
even during those centuries of silence and loneliness in Egypt,
Israel still cherished the fundamental truths of their ancestral
religion. But there is yet another matter, bearing reference
not to their articles of belief or to observances, but to the
religious life of the family and of individuals in Israel.
This appears in the names given by parents to their children
during the long and hard bondage of Egypt. It is well known
what significance attaches in the Old Testament to names.
Every spiritually important event gave its new and characteristic
name to a person or locality. Sometimes — as in the case of
Abram, Sarai, and Jacob — it was God Himself Who gave such
new name ; at others, it was the expression of hearts that re-
cognised the special and decisive interposition of God, or else '
breathed out their hopes and experiences, as in the case of
Moses' sons. But any one who considers such frequently
recurring names among "the princes" of Israel, as Eliasafh
(my God that gathers), Elizur (my God a rock), and others of
kindred import, will gather how deep the hope of Israel had
struck its roots in the hearts and convictions of the people.
This point will be further referred to in the sequel. Meantime,
we only call attention to the names ot the chiefs of the three
families of the Levites : Eliasaph (my God that gathers),
Elizaphan (my God that watcheth all around), and ZuricI (my
rock is God)— the Divine Name {El) being the same by which
God had revealed Himself to the flithers.

Besides their own inherited rites, the cliildren of Israel may
have learned many things from the Egyptians, or been strength-
ened in them. And here, by the side of resemblance, we also
observe marked contrast between them. We have already seen
* Ex. XX. 8.

Dangers of Intercourse with Egypt. 31

that, originally, the religion of the Egyptians had contained
much of truth, which, however, was gradually perverted to super-
stition. The Egyptians and Israel might hold the same truths,
but with the difference of understanding and application between
dim tradition and clear Divine revelation. Thus, both Israel and
the Egyptians believed in the great doctrines of the immortality
of the soul, and of future rewards and punishments. But, in
connection with this, Israel was taught another lesson, far more
difficult to our faith, and which the ancient Egyptians had never
learned, that God is the God of iho. present as well as of the
future, and that even here on earth He reigneth, dispensing
good and evil. And perhaps it was owing to this that the
temporal consequences of sin were so much insisted upon in
the Mosaic law. There was no special need to refer to the
consequences in another life. The Egyptians, as well as Israel,
acknowledged the latter, but the Egyptians knew not the former.
Yet this new truth would teach Israel constantly to realise
Jehovah as the living and the true God. On the other hand,
the resemblances between certain institutions of Israel and of
Egypt clearly prove that the Law was not given at a later
period, but to those who came out from Egypt, and immediately
upon their leaving it. At the same time, much evil was also
acquired by intercourse with the Egyptians. In certain provi-
sions of the Pentateuch we discover allusions, not only to the
moral corruptions witnessed, and perhaps learned, in Egypt,
but also to the idolatrous practices common there. Possibly,
it was not the gorgeous ritual of Egypt which made such deep
impression, but the services constantly there witnessed may
have gradually accustomed the mind to the worship of nature.
As instances of this tendency among Israel, Ave remember the
worship of the golden calf,^ the warning against sacrificing unto
the "he-goat,"^ and the express admonition, even of Joshua
(xxiv. 14), to "put away the strange gods" which their
" fathers served on the other side of the flood." To the same

* Ex. xxxii.

* Lev. xvii. 7. Erroneously rendered in our Authorised Version
"devils."

32 The Exodus,

effect is the retrospect in Ezek. xx. 5-8, in Amos v. 26, and in
the address of Stephen before the Jewish council.^ Yet it is
remarkable that, although the forms of idolatry here referred to
were all practised in Egypt, there is good reason for believing
that they were not, so to speak, strictly Egyptian in their origin,
but rather foreign rites imported, probably from the Phenicians.^

Such then was the political, social, and religious state of
Israel, when their long peace was suddenly interrupted by
tidings that Aahmes i. was successfully making war against the
foreign dynasty of the Hyksos. Advancing victoriously, he at
last took Avaris, the great stronghold and capital of the
Shepherd kings, and expelled them and their adherents from
the country. He then continued his progress to the borders of
Canaan, taking many cities by storm. The memorials of the
disastrous rule of the Shepherds were speedily removed; the
worship which they had introduced was abolished, and the old
Egyptian forms were restored. A reign of great prosperity now
ensued.

Although there is difference of opinion on the subject, yet
every likelihood (as shown in the previous chapter) seems to
attach to the belief that the accession of this new dynasty was
the period when the " king arose who knew not Joseph."^ For
reasons already explained, one of the first and most important
measures of his internal administration would necessarily be to
weaken the power of the foreign settlers, who were in such vast
majority in the border province of Goshen. He dreaded lest,
in case of foreign war, they might join the enemy, " and get

^ Acts vii. 43.

* This is very ably argued by Mr. R. J. Poole in Smith's Did. of the
Bible, yo\.\\\. "Remphan."

' The Hebrew word *' arose" is almost always used to describe a new
commencement (as in Deut. xxxiv. 10); the word "new" occurs in
connection with an entire change (as in Deut. xxxii. 17; Judges v. 8),
while tl\e expression, "knew not" (Deut. xxviii. 36) is appUed not so much
to absolute want of knowledge, as to the absence oi friendly acquaintance-
ship. If this king began a new dynasty, he must have been either the
first of the Hyksos or else of those who expelled them. As the former
assumption is almost impossible, we are shut up to the latter.

The forced labours of Israel. 33

them up out of the land." The latter apprehension also shows
that the king must have known the circumstances under which
they had at first settled in the land. Again, from the monuments
of Egypt, it appears to have been at all times the policy of the
Pharaohs to bring an immense number of captives into Egypt,
and to retain them there in servitude for forced labours. A
somewhat similar policy was now pursued towards Israel.
Although allowed to retain their flocks and fields, they were set
to hard labour for the king. Egyptian "taskmasters" were
appointed over them, who "made the children of Israel ser\^e
with rigour," and did " afflict them with their burdens." A
remarkable illustration of this is seen in one of the Egyptian
monuments. Labourers, who are evidently foreigners, and sup-
posed to represent Israelites, are engaged in the various stages
of brickmaking, under the superintendence ot four Egyptians,
two of whom are apparently superior officers, while the other
two are overseers armed with heavy lashes, who cry out, " Work
without fainting !" The work in which the Israelites were em-
ployed consisted of brickmaking, artificial irrigation of the land,
including, probably, also the digging or restoring of canals, and
the building, or restoring and enlarging of the two " magazine-
cities " 1 of Pithom and Raamses, whose localities have been
traced in Goshen, and which served as depots both for com-
merce and for the army. According to Greek historians it
was the boast of the Egyptians that, in their great works, they
only employed captives and slaves, never their own people.
But Aahmes i. had special need of Israelitish labour, since
we learn from an inscription, dating from his twenty -second
year, that he was largely engaged in restoring the temples and
buildings destroyed by the " Shepherds."

But this first measure of the Pharaohs against Israel produced
the opposite result from what had been expected. So tar from
diminishing, their previous vast growth went on in increased ratio,
so that the Egyptians " were sorely afraid^ (alarmed) because of

* This, and not "treasure-cities," is the literal rendering.

* The expression is the same as in Numb. xxii. 3, and imphes "to be
struck with awe." ^

34 The Exodus.

the children of Israel."^ Accordingly Pharaoh resorted to a
second measure, by which all male children, as they were born,
were to be destroyed, probably unknown to their parents. But
the two Hebrew women, who, as we suppose, were at the head
of " the guild " of midwives, do not seem to have communicated
the king's order to their subordinates. At any rate, the command
was not executed. Scripture has preserved the names of these
courageous women^ and told us that their motive was " fear ot
God " (in the Hebrew with the article, " the God," as denoting
the living and true God). And as they were the means ot
" making " or upbuilding the houses of Israel, so God " made
them houses." It is true that, when challenged by the king,
they failed to speak out their true motive ; but, as St. Augustine
remarks, " God forgave the evil on account of the good, and
rewarded their piety, though not their deceit."

How little indeed any merely human device could have
averted the ruin of Israel, appears from the third measure which
Pharaoh now adopted. Putting aside every restraint, and for-
getting, in his determination, even his interests, the king issued
a general order to cast every Jewish male child, as it was born,
into the Nile. Whether this command, perhaps given in anger,
was not enforced for any length of time, or the Egyptians were
unwilling permanently to lend themselves to such cruelty, or the
Israelites found means of preserving their children from this
danger, certain it is, that, while many must have suffered, and
all needed to use the greatest precautions, this last ruthless
attempt to exterminate Israel also proved vain.

Thus the two prophecies had been fulfilled. Even under the
most adverse circumstances Israel had so increased as to fill
the Egyptians with alarm ; and the " affliction " of Israel had
reached its highest point. And now the promised deliverance
was also to appear. As in so many instances, it came in what
men would call the most unlikely manner.

^ Ex. i. 12.

35

CHAPTER III.

%hz §ixih, nvib the draining xrf £[to0zsi, hoik in ^Q^^t
mxb in JEibiart, tts ^rep^arabrg t^ hts! CitUing.

(Exodus ii.)

TO the attentive reader of Scripture it will not seem strange —
only remarkable — that the very measure which Pharaoh
had taken for the destruction of Israel eventually led to their
deliverance. Had it not been for the command to cast the
Hebrew children into the river, Moses would not have been
rescued by Pharaoh's daughter, nor trained in all the wisdom
of Egypt to fit him for his calling. Yet all throughout, this
marvellous story pursues a natural course ; that is, natural in
its progress, but supernatural in its purposes and results.

A member of the tribe of Levi, and descendant of Kohath,^
A7nram by name, had married Jochebed^ who belonged to the
same tribe. Their union had already been blessed with two
children, Miriam and Aaron,^ when the murderous edict of
Pharaoh was issued. The birth of their next child brought
them the more sorrow and care, that the " exceeding fairness "
of the child not only won their hearts, but seemed to point him
out as destined of God for some special purpose.^ In this
struggle of affection and hope against the fear of man, they
obtained the victory, as victory is always obtained, " by faith."
There was no special revelation made to them, nor was there
need for it. It was a simple question of faith, weighing the

^ Ex. vi. 20 ; Numb. xxvi. 59.

* The narrative implies that they were born before the murderous edict.
Aaron was three years older than Moses (Ex. vii. 7), while Miriam was
grown up when Moses was exposed (Ex. ii. 4).

' The expression in Acts vii. 20 is " fair before God."

D 2

36 The Exodus.

command of Pharaoh against the command of God and their
own hopes. They resolved to trust the living God of their
fathers, and to brave all seeming danger. It was in this sense
that " by faith Moses, when he was bom, was hid three months
of his parents, because they saw he was a proper child j and
they were not afraid of the king's commandment." Longer
concealment at home being impossible, the same confidence of
faith now led the mother to lay the child in an ark made, as at
that time the light Nile-boats used to be, of " bulrushes," or
papyrus — a strong three-cornered rush, that grew to a height of
about ten or fifteen feet.^ The "ark" — a term used in Scrip-
ture only here and in connection with the deliverance of Noah
by an " ark " — was made tight within by " slime "— either Nile-
mud or asphalt — and impenetrable to water by a coating of
"pitch." Thus protected, the " ark," with its precious burden,
was deposited among " the flags " in the brink, or lip of the
river, just where Pharaoh's daughter was wont to bathe, though
the sacred text does not expressly inform us whether or not
this spot was purposely chosen.

The allusion in Ps. Ixxviii. 12, to the "marvellous things"
done " in the field of Zoan," may perhaps guide us to the very
scene of this deliverance. Zoan, as we know, was the
ancient Ai'aris, the capital of the Shepherd kings, which the
new dynasty had taken from them. The probability that it
would continue the residence of the Pharaohs, the more so as
it lay on the eastern boundary of Goshen, is confirmed by the
circumstance that in those days, of all the ancient Egyptian resi-
dences, Avaris or Zoan alone lay on an arm of the Nile which
was not infested by crocodiles, and where the princess therefore
could bathe. There is a curious illustration on one of the
Egyptian monuments of the scene described in the rescue of

* Everything here is strictly Egyptian ; even some of the terms used in
the Hebrew are derived from the Egyptian. The papyrus no longer grows
below Nubia, but the Egyptian monuments exhibit many such "arks"
and boats made of the plant, and similarly prepared. The ''flags" were a
smaller species of papyrus.

Rescue of Moses by Pharaoh's Daughter. 37

Moses. A noble lady is represented bathing in the river with
four of her maidens attending upon her, just like the daughter
of Pharaoh in the story of Moses. But to return — the dis-
covery of the ark, and the weeping of the babe, as the stranger
Hfted him, are all true to nature. The princess is touched by
the appeal of the child to her woman's feelings. She com-
passionates him none the less that he is one of the doomed
race. To have thrown the weeping child into the river would
have been inhuman. Pharaoh's daughter acted as every
woman would have done in the circumstances.^ To save 07ie
Hebrew child could be no very great crime in the king's
daughter. Moreover, curiously enough, we learn from the
monuments, that just at that very time the royal princesses exer-
cised special influence — in fact, that two of them were co-regents.
So when, just at the opportune moment, Miriam, who all along
had watched at a little distance, came forward and proposed
to call some Hebrew woman to nurse the weeping child — this
strange gift, bestowed as it were by the Nile-god himself on the
princess,^ — she readily consented. The nurse called was, of
course, the child's own mother, who received her babe now as
a precious charge, entrusted to her care by the daughter of him
who would have compassed his destruction. So marvellous are
the ways of God.

One of the old church-writers has noted that " the daughter
of Pharaoh is the community of the Gentiles," thereby meaning
to illustrate this great truth, which we trace throughout history,
that somehow the salvation of Israel was always connected
with the instrumentality of the Gentiles. It was so in the
history of Joseph, and even before that; audit will continue so
till at the last, through their mercy, Israel shall obtain mercy.

* In what is commonly known as The Speaker's Coin7nentary, an
illustration of this is given from the so-called Ritual for the Dead, the most
ancient existing religious record of Egypt. It seems that one of the things
which the disembodied spirit had to answer before the Lord of truth was this :
**I have not afflicted any man ; I have not made any man weep ; I have
not withheld milk from the mouth of sucklings."
2 The Egyptians worshipped the Nile as a god.

38 The Exodus.

But meanwhile a precious opportunity was afforded to those
beheving Hebrew parents to mould the mind of the adopted
son of the princess of Egypt. The three first years of life, the
common eastern time for nursing, are often, even in our
northern climes, where development is so much slower, a period
decisive in after life. It requires no stretch of imagination to
conceive what the child Moses would learn at his mother's
knee, and hear among his persecuted people. When a child
so preserved and so trained found himself destined to step
from his Hebrew home to the court of Pharaoh — his mind full
ot the promises made to the fathers, and his heart heavy with
the sorrows of his brethren, — it seems almost natural that
thoughts of future deliverance of his people through him should
gradually rise in his soul. Many of our deepest purposes have
their root in earliest childhood, and the lessons then learnt, and
the thoughts then conceived, have been steadily carried out to
the end of our lives.

Yet, as in all deepest life -purpose, there was no rashness
about carrying it into execution. When Jochebed brought the
child back to the princess, the latter gave her adopted son the
Egyptian name "Moses," which, curiously enough, appears
also in several of the old Egyptian papyri, among others, as
that of one of the royal princes. The word means " brought
forth," or " drawn out," " because," as she said in giving the
name, " I drew him out of the water. "^ But for the present
Moses would probably not reside in the royal palace at Avaris.
St. Stephen tells us- that he " was instructed in all the wisdom
of the Egyptians." In no country was such value attached
to education, nor was it begun so early as in Egypt. No
sooner was a child weaned than it was sent to school, and
instructed by regularly appointed scribes. As writing was
not by letters, but by hieroglyphics, which might be either
pictorial representations, or symbols (a sceptre for a king,

' Others have derived it from two old Egyptian words which Hterally
mean, "water," "saved."
■^ Acts vii. 22.

The first forty years of Moses' life. 39

etc.), or a kind of phonetic signs, and as there seem to have
been hieroglyphics for single letters, for syllables, and for
words, that art alone must, from its complication, have taken
almost a lifetime to master it perfectly. But beyond this,
education was carried to a very great length, and, in the case
of those destined for the higher professions, embraced not only
the various sciences, as mathematics, astronomy, chemistry,
medicine, etc., but theology, philosophy, and a knowledge of
the laws. There can be no doubt that, as the adopted son
of the princess, Moses would receive the highest training.
Scripture tells us that, in consequence, he was " mighty in his
words and deeds," and we may take the statement in its sim-
plicity, without entering upon the many Jewish and Egyptian
legends which extol his wisdom, and his military and other
achievements.

Thus the first forty years of Moses' life passed. Undoubtedly,
had he been so minded, a career higher even than that of
Joseph might have been open to him. But, before entering it,
he had to decide that one great preliminary question, with
whom he would cast in his lot — with Egypt or with Israel, with
the world or the promises. As so often happens, the providence
of God here helped him to a clear, as the grace of God to a
right, decision. In the actual circumstances of Hebrew per-
secution it was impossible at the same time " to be called the
son of Pharaoh's daughter " and to have part, as one of them,
"with the people of God." The one meant " the pleasures of
sin" and "the treasures of Egypt" — enjoyment and honours,
the other implied " affliction " and " the reproach of Christ " —
or suffering and that obloquy which has always attached to
Christ and to His people, and at that time especially, to
those who clung to the covenant of which Christ was the
substance.

But "faith," which is " the substance of things hoped for, the
evidence of things not seen," enabled Moses not only to "refuse"
what Egypt held out, but to " choose rather the affliction," and,
more than that, to " esteem the reproach of Christ greater riches

40 The Exodus.

than the treasures of Egypt," because " he had respect unto the
recompence of the reward."^ In this spirit " he went out unto
his brethren, and looked on their burdens."- But his faith
was, though deeply genuine, as yet far from pure and spiritual.
The ancient Egyptians were noted for the severity of their
discipline, and their monuments represent the " taskmasters "
armed with heavy scourges, made of tough bending wood, which
they unmercifully used. The sight of such sufferings, inflicted
by menials upon his brethren, would naturally rouse the utmost
resentment of the son of the Princess Royal. This, together
with the long-cherished resolve to espouse the cause of his
brethren, and the nascent thought of becoming their deliverer,
led him to slay an Egyptian, whom he saw thus maltreating
" an Hebrew, one of his brethren." Still it was not an access
of sudden frenzy, for " he looked this way and that way," to
see "^ that there was no man " to observe his deed -, rather was it
an attempt to carry out spiritual ends by carnal means, such as
in the history of Moses' ancestors had so often led to sin and
suffering. He would become a deliverer before he was called
to it of God j and he would accomplish it by other means than
those which God would appoint. One of the fathers has rightly
compared this deed to that of Peter in cutting off the ear of the
high-priest's servant; at the same time also calling attention
to the fact, that the heart both of Moses and Peter resembled a
field richly covered with weeds, but which by their very luxu-
riance gave promise of much good fruit, when the field should
have been broken up and sown with good seed.

In the gracious dispensation of God, that time had now come.
Before being transplanted, so to speak, Moses had to be cut
down. He had to strike root downwards, before he could spring
upwards. As St. Stephen puts it, *' his brethren understood not
how that God, by his hand, would give them deliverance " — what
his appearance and conduct among them really meant; and
when next he attempted to interfere in a quarrel between two
Hebrews, the wrong-doer in harsh terms disowned his authority,
* Ileb. xi. 24-26. 2 Ex. ii. Ii.

Flight of Moses. 41

and reproached him with his crime. It was now evident that
the matter was generally known. Presently it reached the ears
of Pharaoh. From what we know of Egyptian society, such
an offence could not have remained unpunished, even in the
son of a princess, and on the supposition that she who had
originally saved Moses was still alive, after the lapse of forty
years, and that the then reigning Pharaoh was her father. But,
besides, Moses had not only killed an official in the discharge
of his duty, he had virtually taken the part of the Hebrews, and
encouraged them to rebellion. That Moses commanded such
position of influence that Pharaoh could not at once order his
execution, but "sought to slay him," only aggravated the
matter, and made Moses the more dangerous. Open resistance
to Pharaoh was of course impossible. The sole hope of safety
now seemed to lie in renouncing all further connection with his
people. That or, flight were the only alternatives. On the
other hand, flight might further provoke the wrath of the king,
and it was more than doubtful whether any of the neighbouring
countries could, under such circumstances, afford him safe
shelter. It was therefore, indeed, once more an act of " faith "
when Moses " forsook Egypt, not fearing the wrath of the king,
for he endured" (or remained stedfast, viz., to his choice and
people), "as seeing the Invisible One," that is, as one who,
instead of considering the king of Egypt, looked by faith to the
King invisible.^

Like Jacob ot old, and Joseph under similar circumstances,
Moses must now go into a strange land. All that Egypt could
teach him, he had acquired. What he still needed could only
be learned in lowliness, humiliation, and suffering. Two things
would become manifest in the course of his history. That
which, in his own view, was to have freed his people from their
misery, had only brought misery to himself On the other
hand, that which seemed to remove him from his special calling,
would prepare the way for its final attainment. And so it often
happens to us in the most important events of our lives, that
* I Tim. i. 17.

42 The Exodus.

thus we may learn the lessons of faith and implicit self-surrender,
and that God alone may have the glory.

Disowned by his people, and pursued by the king, the
gracious Providence of God prepared a shelter and home for
the fugitive. Along the eastern shore of the Red Sea the
Midianites, descended from Abraham through Keturah,^ had
their settlements, whence, as nomads, they wandered, on one
side to the southern point of the peninsula of Sinai, and on the
other, northward, as far as the territory of Moab. Among the
Midianites it happened to Moses, as of old to Jacob on his
flight. At the "well" he was able to protect the daughters of
Reuel, " the priest of Midian," against the violence of the
shepherds, who drove away their flocks. ^ Invited in con-
sequence to the house of Reuel, he continued there, and
eventually married Zipporah, the daughter of the priest. This,
and the birth of his two sons, to which we shall presently refer,
is absolutely all that Moses himself records of his forty years'
stay in Midian.

But we are in circumstances to infer some other and im-
portant details. The father-in-law of Moses seems to have
worshipped the God of Abraham, as even his name implies :
Reuel, the " friend of El," being the designation which the
patriarchs gave to God, as El S/iaddai, " God Almighty."^ This
is further borne out by his after-conduct.'^ Reuel is also called
Jethro diTidi Jet/ier,^ which means " excellency," and was probably
his official title as chief priest of the tribe, the same as the Imam
of the modern Arabs, the term having a kindred meaning.*^

^ Gen. XXV. 2-4.

2 Both in Ex. ii. 16, and iii, I, the Hebrew expression for "flocks'*
implies that they consisted of sheep and goats, not of cattle, and thus
affords another indirect testimony to the truth of the narrative, as only
such flocks would be ordinarily pastured in that district.

' Ex. vi. 3. ■* Ex. xviii. * Ex. iii. I ; iv. 18.

' We must distinguish Reiiel Jethro from Hobab, who seems to have
been the son of Reuel, and brother-in-law of Moses, and to have accom-
panied Israel on their journey (see Judges iv. ii). There is a little
difficulty here, as the word rendered in our Authorised Version ** father-in-
law," really means every relative by marriage.

Moses in the House of Jcthro. 43

' But the life of Moses in the house of Reuel must have been one
of humiUation and lowhness. From her after-conduct ^ we infer
that Zipporah was a woman of violent, imperious temper, who
had but little sympathy with the religious convictions of her
husband. When she first met him as " an Egyptian," his
bravery may have won her heart. But further knowledge of
the deepest aims of his life might lead her to regard him as a
gloomy fanatic, who busied his mind with visionary schemes.
So little indeed does she seem to have had in common with
her husband that, at the most trying and noble period of his life,
when on his mission to Pharaoh, he had actually to send her
away.^ Nor could there have been much confidence between
Moses and his father-in-law. His very subordinate position in
the family of Jethro (iii. i); the fact of his reticence in regard
to the exact vision vouchsafed him of God (iv. 18); and the
humble manner in which Moses was sent back into Egypt
(ver. 20), all give a saddening view of the mutual relations.
What, however, all this time were the deepest feelings and
experiences of his heart, found expression in the names which
he gave to his two sons. The elder he named Gershom
(expulsion, banishment),^ " for he said, I have been a stranger
in a strange land ;"* the second he called Eliezer^ " my God
is help " (xviii. 4). Banished to a strange land, far from his
brethren and the land of promise, Moses longs for his real
home. Yet this feeling issues not in despondency, far less in
disbehef or distrust. On the contrary, " the peaceable fruits of
righteousness," springing from the "chastening" of the Lord,
appear in the name of his second son ; " for the God of my
fathers," said he, " is mine help, and delivered me from the sword
of Pharaoh." The self-confidence and carnal zeal manifest in
his early attempt to deliver his brethren in Egypt have been
quenched in the land of his banishment, and in the school of

^ Ex. iv. 25. - Ex. xviii. 2, 3.

' Mr. Cook regards it as a compound of a Hebrew and an Egyptian
word meaning " a stranger "in "a foreign land."
* Ex. ii. 22.

44 'The Exodus.

sorrow. And the result of all he has suffered and learned has
been absolute trustfulness in the God of his fathers, the God ot
the promises, Who would surely fulfil His word.

CHAPTER IV.

I^he Call -of J^oists— ^he '^Sisixm xjf the gunthtg Jti'Sh—
^ke (Ei)mmt00t0n ta gharaxrh anti t^ isracl— aui llxe
three **<Si9n5," anb their JEeaning.

(Exodus ii. 23; iv. 17.)

WHEN God is about to do any of His great works, He
first silently prepares all for it. Not only the good
seed to be scattered, but the breaking up of the soil for its
reception is His. Instrumentalities, unrecognised at the time,
are silently at work ; and, together with the good gift to be
bestowed on His own. He grants them the felt need and the
earnest seeking of it. Thus prayers and answers are, as it
were, the scales of grace in equipoise.

It was not otherwise when God would work" the great
deliverance of His people from Egypt. Once more it seemed
as if the clouds overhead were just then darkest and heaviest.
One king had died and another succeeded;^ but the change
of government brought not to Israel that relief which they
had probably expected. Their bondage seemed now part of
the settled policy of the Pharaohs. Not one ray of hope lit up
their sufferings other than what might have been derived from
faith. But centuries had passed without any communication
or revelation from the God of their fathers ! It must there-
fore be considered a revival of religion when, under such cir-
cumstances, the people, instead of either despairing or plotting
rebellion against Pharaoh, turned in earnest prayer unto the

^ Ex. ii. 23. We must ask the reader to read this chapter with the open
Bible beside him.

By ** the Mount of God!' 45

Lord, or. as the sacred text puts it, significantly adding the
definite article before God,^ " cried " ^' unto the God," that is,
not as unto one out of many, but unto the only true and living
God. This spirit of prayer, now for the first time appearing
among them, was the first pledge and harbinger, indeed, the
commencement of their deliverance.^ For though only "a
cry," so to speak, spiritually inarticulate, no intervening
period of time divided their prayer from its answer. " And
God heard their groaning, and God remembered His covenant
with Abraham, with Isaac, and with Jacob. And God looked
upon the children of Israel, and God had respect unto them "
— literally, He " knew them," that is, recognised them as the
chosen seed of Abraham, and, recognising, manifested His
love towards them.

The southern end of the peninsula of Sinai, to which the
sacred narrative now takes us, consists of a confused mass of
peaks (the highest above 9,000 feet), some of dark green
porphyjy, but mostly red granite of different hues, which is
broken by strips of sand or gravel, intersected by wadies or
glens, which are the beds of winter torrents, and dotted here and
there with green spots, chiefly due to perennial fountains. The
great central group among these mountains is that of Horeb, and
one special height in it Sinai, the " mount of God." Strangely
enough, it is just here amidst this awful desolateness that the
most fertile places in '' the wilderness " are also found. Even
in our days some of this plateau is quite green. Hither the
Bedouin drive their flocks when summer has parched all the
lower districts. Fruit-trees grow in rich luxuriance in its
valleys, and "the neighbourhood is the best watered in the
whole peninsula, running streams being found in no less than
four of the adjacent valleys."^ It was thither that Moses,
probably in the early summer,^ drove Reuel's flock for pas-
turage and water. Behind him, to the east, lay the desert;

' Ex. ii. 23. ^ Ex. iii. 7 ; Deut. xxvi. 7.

3 Palmer's Desert of the Exodus, vol. i. p. 117.

^ This will be shown when describing the ten plagues.

46 The Exodus.

before him rose in awful grandeur the mountain of God. The
stillness of this place is unbroken ; its desolateness only relieved
by the variety of colouring in the dark green or the red moun-
tain peaks, some of which " shine in the sunlight like burnished
copper." The atmosphere is such that the most distant out-
lines stand out clearly defined, and the faintest sound falls
distinctly on the ear. All at once truly a "strange sight"
presented itself. On a solitary crag, or in some sequestered
valley, one of those spiked, gnarled, thorny acacia trees, which
form so conspicuous a feature in the wadies of " the desert," of
which indeed they are "the only timber tree of any size,"^
stood enwrapped in fire, and yet " the bush was not consumed."
At view of this, Moses turned aside "to see this great sight."
And yet greater wonder than this awaited him. A vision
which for centuries had not been seen now appeared ; a voice
which had been silent these many ages again spoke. " The
Angel of Jehovah" (ver. 2), who is immediately afterwards
Himself called "Jehovah" and "God" (vers. 4, 5), spake to
him " out of the midst of the bush." His first words warned
Moses to put his shoes from off his feet, as standing on
holy ground ; the next revealed Him as the same Angel of the
Covenant, who had appeared unto the fathers as " the God of
Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob." The
reason of the first injunction was not merely reverence, but it
was prompted by the character of Him who spoke. For in the
East shoes are worn chiefly as protection from defilement and
dust, and hence put off when entering a sanctuary, in order, as
it were, not to bring within the pure place defilement from
without. But the place where Jehovah manifests Himself —
whatever it be — is "holy ground;" and he who would have
communication with Him must put aside the defilement that
clings to him. In announcing Himself as the God of the
fathers, Jehovah now declared the continuity of His former
purpose of mercy. His remembrance of Israel, and His speedy

' See the illustration and description in Canon Tristram's Natural
History of the Bible, pp. 391, 392.

TJie Vision of '' the Btiriiing Bushy 47

fulfilment of the promises given of old. During these centuries
of silence He had still been the same, ever mindful of His
covenant, and now, just as it might seem that His purpose had
wholly failed, the set time had come, when He would publicly
manifest Himself as the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. ^
The same truth was symbolically expressed by the vision of
the burning bush. Israel, in its present low and despised
state, was like the thorn-bush in the wilderness (comp. Judges
ix. 15), burning in the fiery "furnace of Egypt," ^ but "not
given over unto death," because Jehovah, the Angel of the
Covenant, was "in the midst of the bush" — a God who
chastened, but did " not consume." And this vision was in-
tended not only for Moses, but for all times. It symbolises the
relationship between God and Israel at all times, and similarly
that between Him and His Church. For the circumstances in
which the Church is placed, and the purpose of God towards it,
continue always the same. But this God, in the midst of the
flames of the bush, is also a consuming fire, alike in case of
forgetfulness of the covenant on the part of His people,^ and
as "a fire" that "burneth up His enemies round about."*
This manifestation of God under the symbol of fire, which on
comparison will be seen to recur through all Scripture, shall
find its fullest accomplishment when the Lord Jesus shall come
to judge — " His eyes as a flame of fire, and on His head many
crowns."^ But as for Moses, he "hid his face; for he was
afraid to look upon God."

The vision vouchsafed, and the words which accompanied it,
prepare us for the further communication which the Lord was
pleased to make to His servant. He had heard the cry of His
people ; He knew their sorrows, and He had come to deliver

^ Even the expression, **I am the God of thy father," in the singular
number, imphes the identity of His dealings throughout. All the fathers
were but as one father before Him. So closely should we study the
wording of Scripture.

- Deut. iv. 20. ^ Deut. iv. 24. ^ Ps. xcvii. 3.

* Rev. xix. 12.

48 . The Exodus.

and bring them into the Land of Promise, " a good land/' it
is added, "and a large," a land "flowing with milk and
honey" — large and fruitful enough to have been at the time
the territory of not fewer than six Canaanitish races (ver. 8).
Finally, the Lord directed Moses to go to Pharaoh in order to
bring His people out of Egypt.

Greater contrast could scarcely be conceived than between
the Moses of forty years ago and him who now pleaded to be
relieved from this work. If formerly his self-confidence had
been such as to take the whole matter into his own hands, his
self-diffidence now went the length of utmost reluctance to act,
even as only the Lord's messenger and minister. His first and
deepest feeUngs speak themselves in the question, " Who am I,
that I should go unto Pharaoh, and that I should bring forth
the children of Israel out of Egypt?" (ver. ii). But the
remembrance of former inward and outward failure was no
longer applicable, for God Himself would now be with him.
In token of this he was told, " When thou hast brought forth
the people out of Egypt, ye shall serve God upon this moun-
tain." Evidently this " token" appealed to his faith, as indeed
every " sign " does, whence their misunderstanding by those
"who are not of the household of faith" (comp. Matt. xii.
38, 39; Luke xvi. 31). Similarly, long afterwards, a distantly
future event — the birth of the Virgin's Son — was to be a sign
to the house of Ahaz of the preservation of the royal line of
David. ^ Was it then that underneath all else God saw in the
heart of Moses a latent want of realising faith, which He would
now call forth ?

This first difficulty, on the part of Moses, had been set aside.
His next was : What he should say in reply to this inquiry of
Israel about God: "What is His Name?" (ver. 13). This
means, What was he to tell them in answer to their doubts and
fears about God's purposes towards them ? For, in Scripture,
the na?ne is regarded as the manifestation of character or of
deepest purpose, whence also a new 7iaine was generally given
^ Isa. vii. 10-14.

The Message of God to Israel. 49

after some decisive event, which for ever after stamped its
character upon a person or place.

In answer to this question, the Lord explained to Moses,
and bade him tell Israel, the import of the '^2in\Q fekovah, by
which He had at the first manifested Himself, when entering
into covenant with Abraham.^ It was, " I am that I am" —
words betokening His unchangeable nature and faithfulness.
The " I am " had sent Moses, and, as if to remove all doubt,
he was to add : "the God of your fathers, of Abraham, Isaac, and
Jacob." " This," the Lord declares, " is my Name for ever,
and this is my memorial to all generations ;" in other words, as
such He would always prove Himself, and as such He willeth
to be known and remembered, not only by Israel, but " to all
generations." Here, then, at the very outset, when the cove-
nant with Abraham was transferred to his seed, the promise also,
which included all nations in its blessing, was repeated.

In further preparation for his mission, God directed Moses
on his arrival in Egypt to "gather" the elders of Israel
together, and, taking up the very words of Joseph's prophecy
when he died,^ to announce that the promised time had come,
and that God had " surely visited " His people. Israel, he was
told, would hearken to his voice; not so Pharaoh, although
the original demand upon him was to be only to dismiss
the people for a distance of three days' journey into the
wilderness. Yet Pharaoh would not yield, "riot even by a
strong hand" (ver. 19) — that is, even when the strong hand of
God would be upon him. But, at the last, the wonder-working
power of Jehovah would break the stubborn will of Pharaoh ;
and when Israel left Egypt it would not be as fugitives, but,
as it were, like conquerors laden with the spoil of their
enemies.

Thus the prediction clearly intimated that only after a long

and severe contest Pharaoh would yield. But would the faith

of Israel endure under such a trial? This is probably the

meaning of Moses' next question, seemingly strange as put at

^ Gen. XV. 7. 2 q^.,^ ^ 24.

• E

50 The Exodus.

this stage : " But, behold, they will not believe me, nor hearken
unto my voice : for they will say, Jehovah hath not appeared
unto thee."^ To such doubts, whether on the part of Israel,
of Pharaoh, or of the Egyptians, a threefold symbolical reply
was now furnished, and that not only to silence those who might
so object, but also for the encouragement of Moses himself.
This reply involved the bestowal of power upon Moses to
work miracles. We note that here, for the first time in Old
Testament history, this power was bestowed upon man, and that
the occasion was the first great conflict between the world and
the Church. These miracles were intended to act like "a
voice " from heaven, bearing direct testimony to the truth of
Moses' commission. So we read in Exodus iv. 8 of Israel
"hearkening unto" and "believing" "the voice" of the signs,
and in Psalm cv. 27 (marginal reading) that Moses and Aaron
" shewed the words of His signs among them." But while this
was the general purpose of the three signs now displayed —
first to Moses himself — each had also its special reference :
the first to Pharaoh, the second to Israel, and the third to
the might of Egypt.

In the first sign Moses was bidden to look at the rod in his
hand. It was but an ordinary shepherd's staff. At God's
command he was to cast it on the ground, when presently it
was changed into a serpent, from which Moses fled in terror.
Again God commands, and as Moses seized the serpent by
the tail, it once more "became a rod in his hand." The
meaning of this was plain. Hitherto Moses had wielded the
shepherd's crook. At God's command he was to cast it away ;
his calling was to be changed, and he would have to meet "the
serpent " — not only the old enemy, but the might of Pharaoh,
of which the serpent was the public and well-known Egyptian
emblem.2 " The serpent was the symbol of royal and divine

1 Ex. iv. I.

* Scripture frequently uses the serpent as a symbol of the power hostile
to the kingdom of God, and applies the figure not only to Egypt (as in
Ps. Ixxiv. 13; Is. li. 9), but also to Babylon (Is. xxvii. i).

The three " Sig7zs." 5 1

power on the diadem of every Pharaoh " ^ — the emblem of the
land, of its religion, and government. At God's command,
Moses next seized this serpent, when it became once more in
his hand the staff with which he led his flock — only that now
the flock was Israel, and the shepherd's staff the wonder-
working " rod of God."^ In short, the humble shepherd, who
would have fled from Pharaoh, should, through Divine strength,
overcome all the might of Egypt.

The second sign shown to Moses bore direct reference to
Israel. The hand which Moses was directed to put in his
bosom became covered with leprosy ; but the same hand, when
a second time he thrust it in, was restored whole. This
miraculous power of inflicting and removing a plague, uni-
versally admitted to come from God, showed that Moses
could inflict and remove the severest judgments of God. But
it spoke yet other " words " to the people. Israel, of whom
the Lord had said unto Moses, " Carry them in thy bosom,"^
was the leprous hand. But as surely and as readily as it was
restored when thrust again into Moses' bosom, so would God
bring them forth from the misery and desolateness of their
state in Egypt, and restore them to their own land.

The third sign given to Moses, in which the water from the
Nile when poured upon the ground was to become blood,
would not only carry conviction to Israel, but bore special
reference to the land of Egypt. The Nile, on which its whole
fruitfulness depended, and which the Egyptians worshipped as
divine, was to be changed into blood. Egypt and its gods
were to be brought low before the absolute power which God
would manifest.

These " signs," which could not be gainsayed, were surely
sufficient. And yet Moses hesitated. Was he indeed the
proper agent for such a work? He possessed not the elo-
quence whose fire kindles a nation's enthusiasm and whose
force sweeps before it all obstacles. And when this objection

^ Speaker's Commentary, vol. i. p. 265.
^ Ex. iv. 20. ^ ^ Numb. xi. 12.

£ 2

52 Tlie Exodus.

also was answered by pointing him to the need of direct
dependence on Him who could unloose the tongue and open
eyes and ears, the secret reluctance of Moses broke forth in
the direct request to employ some one else on such a mission.
Then it was that " the anger of the Lord was kindled against
Moses." Yet in His tender mercy He pitied and helped the
weakness of His servant's faith. For this twofold purpose
God announced that even then Aaron was on his way to join
him, and that he would undertake the part of the work for
which Moses felt himself unfit. Aaron would be alike the
companion and^ so to speak, "the prophet" of Moses. ^ As
the prophet delivers the word which he receives, so would
Aaron declare the Divine message committed to Moses. " And
Moses went."^

Two points yet require brief explanation at this stage of our
narrative. For, firsts it would appear that the request which
Moses was in the first place charged to address to Pharaoh
was only for leave "to go three days' journey into the wilder-
ness/' whereas it was intended that Israel should for ever
leave the land of Egypt. Secondly^ a Divine promise was
given that Israel should " not go empty," but that God would
give the people favour in the sight of the Egyptians, and that
every woman should *^ borrow of her neighbour," so that they
would " spoil the Egyptians."

At the outset, we observe the more than dutiful manner in
which Israel was directed to act towards Pharaoh. Absolutely
speaking, Pharaoh had no right to detain the people in Egypt.
Their fathers had avowedly come not to settle, but temporarily
"to sojourn,"^ and on that understanding they had been
received. And now they were not only wrongfully oppressed,
but unrighteously detained. But still they were not to steal
away secretly, nor yet to attempt to raise the standard of
rebellion. Nor was the Divine power with which Moses
was armed to be at the first employed either in avenging their
past wrongs or in securing their liberty. On the contrary, they
' Ex. vii. I. ' Ex. iv. i8. ^ Gen, xlvii. 4.

Divine Condescejtsioit to Pharaoh. 53

were to apply to Pharaoh for permission to undertake even so
harmless an expedition as a three days' pilgrimage into the
wilderness to sacrifice unto God — a request all the more
reasonable, that Israel's sacrifices would, from a religious point
of view, have been "an abominatipn '"' to the Egyptians,^ and
might have led to disturbances. The same almost excess of
regard for Pharaoh prompted that at the first only so moderate
a demand should be made upon him. It was infinite con-
descension to Pharaoh's weakness, on the part of God, not to
insist from the first upon the immediate and entire dismissal
of Israel. Less could not have been asked than was demanded
of Pharaoh, nor could obedience have been made more easy.
Only the most tyrannical determination to crush the rights and
convictions of the people, and the most daring defiance of
Jehovah, could have prompted him to refuse such a request,
and that in face of all the signs and wonders by which the
mission of Moses was accredited. Thus at the first his sub-
mission was to be tried where it was easiest to render it, and
where disobedience would be " without excuse."

There might have been some plea for such a man as Pharaoh
to refuse at once and wholly to let those go who had so long
been his bondsmen; there could be absolutely none for re-
sisting a demand so moderate and supported by such authoritv.
Assuredly such a man was ripe for the judgment of hardening j
just as, on the other hand, if he had at the first yielded
obedience to the Divine will, he would surely have been
prepared to receive a further revelation of His will, and
grace to submit to it. And so God in His mercy always deals
with man. '^ He that is faithful in that which is least, is faithful
also in much : and he that is unjust in the least, is unjust also
in much." The demands of God are intended to try what is in
us. It was so in the case of Adam's obedience, of Abraham's
sacrifice, and now of Pharaoh ; only that in the latter case, as
in the promise to spare Sodom if even ten righteous men were
found among its wicked inhabitants, the Divine forbearance
' Ex. viii. 6a.

54^ The Exodus.

went to the utmost verge of condescension. The same
principle of government also appears in the New Testament,
and explains how the Lord often first told of " earthly things,"
that unbelief in regard to them might convince men of their
unfitness to hear of " heavenly things." Thus the young ruler^
who beheved himself desirous of inheriting eternal life, and the
scribe who professed readiness to follow Christ,^ had each
only a test of "earthly things" proposed, and yet each failed
in it. The lesson is one which may find its application in our
own case — for only " then shall we know if we follow on to
know the Lord."

The second difficulty about the supposed direction to Israel
to " borrow jewels of silver, and jewels of gold, and raiment,"
and so to " spoil the Egyptians,"^ rests upon a simple misunder-
standing of the text. Common sense even would indicate that,
under the circumstances in which the children of Israel, at the
last, left the land, no Egyptian could have contemplated a
temporary loan of jewels, soon to be repaid. But, in truth, the
word rendered in our Authorised Version by " borrowing," does
not mean a loan, and is not used in that sense in a single
passage in which it occurs throughout the Old Testament. It
ahvays and only means " to ask " or ^' to request." This
" request," or " demand " — as, considering the justice of the
case, we should call it — was readily granted by the Egyptians.
The terror of Israel had fallen on them, and instead of leaving
Egypt as fugitives, they marched out like a triumphant host,
carrying with them " the spoil " of their Divinely conquered
enemies.

It is of more importance to notice another point. Moses
was the first to bear a Div'uie eommission to others. He was
also the first to work miracles. Miracles present to us the
union of the Divine and the human. All miracles pointed
forward to the greatest of all miracles, " the mystery of godli-
ness, into which angels desire to look;" the union of the
Divine with the human, in its fullest appearance in the Person
* Matt. xix. i6. ' Matt. viii. 19. ' Ex. iii. 22.

Moses returns into Egypt. 55

of the God-Man. Thus in these two aspects of his office, as
well as in his mission to redeem Israel from bondage and to
sanctify them unto the Lord, Moses was an eminent type of
Christ. "Wherefore" let us "consider the Apostle and High
Priest of our profession, Christ Jesus; who was faithful to
Him that appointed Him, as also Moses was faithful m all his
house. ... As a servant, for a testimony of those things which
were to be spoken after; but Christ as a Son over His own
house ; whose house are we, if we hold fast the confidence and
the rejoicing of the hope firm unto the end."^

CHAPTER V.

— JE0S£0 vxtdQ ^aran — ^hiir ^ea^rtixxn ip ihe
Chilbr^n ci Israd — g^marks mx i\xz ^arl)niin0 at
5pltara43h'0 ^^art.

(Exodus iv. 17-31.)

SCRIPTURE-HISTORY IS full of Seemingly strange contrasts.
Unintelligible to the superficial observer, the believing
heart rejoices to trace in them, side by side, the difference
between what appears to the eye of man and what really is
before God; and then between the power of God, and the
humbleness of the means and circumstances through which He
chooses to manifest it. The object of the one is to draw out
our faith, and to encourage it in circumstances which least
promise success; that of the other, to give all the glory to
God, and ever to direct our eye from earth to heaven. So it
was, when, in the days of His flesh, neither Israel nor the
Gentiles recognised the royal dignity of Christ in Him who
entered Jerusalem, "meek, and riding upon an ass and the
colt of an ass." And so it also appeared, when, in the simple
^ Ileb. iii. I, 2, 5, 6.

5 6 TJie Exodus.

language of Scripture, " Moses took his wife and his sons, and
set them upon an ass, and he returned to the land of Egypt :
and Moses took the rod of God in his hand."^ What a
contrast ! He who bears in his hand the rod of God is
dismissed in this mean manner — ^his wife and sons, and all
their goods laden on one ass, and himself humbly walking by
their side ! Who would have recognised in this humble guise
him who carried that by which he would smite down the pride
of Pharaoh and the might of Egypt ?

On his return from " the mount of God," Moses had simply
announced to his father-in-law his purpose of revisiting Egypt.
Probably Jethro had not sufficient enlightenment for Moses to
communicate to him the Divine vision. Besides, the relations
between them at the time (as we gather even from the manner
in which Jethro allowed him to depart) seem not to have been
such as to invite special confidence ; possibly, it might have only
raised hindrances on the part of Jethro or of Zipporah. But it
was an indication that God furthered his way, when alike his
father-in-law and his wife so readily agreed to an expedition
which, in the circumstances, might have been fraught with
great danger. And this was not all. After he had resolved to
go, but before he actually set out, God encouraged him by the
information that all the men were dead who had sought his
life. Again, while on his journey. He gave him threefold
strengthening for the work before him. First, He pointed him
to the Divine rod in his hand, with which he was to attest by
miracles his mission to Pharaoh. ^ Secondly, lest he should be
discouraged by the failure of these signs to secure Pharaoh's
submission, God not only foretold the hardening of the king's
heart, but by saying, "I will harden his heart" (ver. 21),
proved that that event also was under His own immediate
control and direction. Lastly, in the message which he was to
bear to Pharaoh a double assurance was conveyed (vers. 22, 23).
Jehovah demanded freedom for the people, because *' Israel is
my son, even my firstborn," and He threatened, in case ot"
* Ex. iv. 20. ^ Ex. iv. 21.

Judgment begins at the House of God. 57

Pharaoh's refusal, "to slay" his "son," even the king's
" firstborn." So terrible a threat was to prove the earnestness
of the Divine demand and purpose. On the other hand, the
title given to Israel implied that God would not leave "His
firstborn" in the bondage of Egypt. In the contest with
Pharaoh Jehovah would surely prevail. That precious rela-
tionship between God and His people^ which was fully esta-
blished in the covenant at Mount Sinai,^ might be said to have
commenced with the call of Abraham. Israel was "the son of
God " by election^ by grace, and by adoption.^ As such, the
Lord would never withdraw His love from him,^ but pity him
even as a father his children;* and, although He would chas-
tise the people for their sins, yet would He not withdraw His
mercy from them. Such a relationship is nowhere else in the
Old Testament indicated as subsisting between God and any
other nation. But it is exceedingly significant that Israel is
only called " the firstborn." For this conveys that Israel was
not to be alone in the family of God, but that, in accordance
with the promise to Abraham, other sons should be born into
the Father's house. Thus even the highest promise spoken to
Israel included in it the assurance of future blessing to the
Gentiles.

And yet he who was to declare Israel the heir to this
precious legacy was himself at the time living in breach of
the sign of that very covenant ! His own second son^ had not
been circumcised according to the Divine commandment^ —
whether from neglect, owing to faith discouraged, or, more
probably, as we gather from the subsequent conduct of Zipporah,
on account of his wife's opposition, which in his depressed
circumstances he could not overcome. But judgment must
begin at the house of God ; and no one is fit to be employed as
an instrument for God who in any way lives in breach of His

* Ex. xix. 5. ^ Deut. xxxii. i8 ; Is. Ixiv. 8 ; Jer, iii. 4 ; Mai. i. 6 ; ii, 10.

* Hos. xi. I ; Jer, xxxi. 9-20. * Ps. ciii. 13.

* From Ex. iv. 25, we gather that only one son required to be circum-
cised. This would, of course, be the younger of the two.

** Gen. xvii. 14.

5$ The Exodus,

commandments. God met even His chosen servant Moses as
an enemy. His life was in imminent danger, and Zipporah
had to submit, however reluctantly, to the ordinance of God.
But her mood and manner showed that as yet she was not
prepared to be Moses' helpmate in the work before him. He
seems to have understood this, and to have sent her and the
children back to his father-in-law. Only at a later period, when
he had '^ heard of all that God had done for Moses and for
Israel His people," did Jethro himself bring them again to Moses. ^

Thus purged from the leaven of sin, Moses continued his
journey. Once more God had anticipated His servant's diffi-
culties ; we might almost say, the fulfilment of His own
promises. Already He had directed Aaron " to go into the
wilderness to meet Moses." At the mount of God the two
brothers met, and Aaron willingly joined the Divine mission ot
Moses. Arrived in Egypt, they soon " gathered together all
the elders of the children of Israel." At hearing of the
gracious tidings which Aaron announced, and at sight of " the
signs " with which he attested them, it is said : " they bowed
their heads and worshipped." Then God had not forsaken
His people whom He foreknew ! So then, not Moses' un-
believing fears (iv. i), but God's gracious promise (iii. i8),
had in this respect also been amply realised. Neither their
long stay in Egypt nor their bondage had extinguished their
faith in the God of their fathers, or their hope of deliverance.
However grievously they might afterwards err and sin, the
tidings that "Jehovah had visited" His people came not upon
them as strange or incredible. More than that, their faith was
mingled with humiliation and worship.

Before we pass to an account of the wonders by which
Moses was so soon to prove before Pharaoh the reality of his
mission, it may be convenient here briefly to consider a very
solemn element in the history of these transactions — we mean,
the hardening of Pharaoh's heart. Not that we can ever hope
fully to understand what touches the councils of God, tlie

* Ex. xviii. 1-7.

The hm'dening of PJiaraoJis heart. 59

administration of His government, the mysterious connection
between the creature and the Creator, and the solemn judg-
ments by which He vindicates His power over the rebelhous.
But a reverent consideration of some points, taken directly
from the text itself, may help us at leasts like Israel of old, to
" bow our heads and worship." We have already noticed, that
before Moses had returned into Egypt,^ God had declared of
Pharaoh, " I will harden his heart," placing this phase in the
foreground, that Moses might be assured of God's overruling
will in the matter. For a similar purpose, only much more
fully expressed, God now again announced to Moses, before
the commencement of the ten plagues ^^ "I will harden Pharaoh's
heart, and multiply My signs and My wonders in the land of
Egypt." These are the two first statements about the hardening
of Pharaoh's heart. In both cases the agency is ascribed to
God; but in both cases the event is yet future, and the
announcement is only made in order to explain to Moses what
his faith almost needed to know.

Twice ten times in the course of this history does the ex-
pression hardening occur in connection with Pharaoh. Al-
though in our English version only the word " harden " is used,
in the Hebrew original three different terms are employed, of
which one (as in Ex. vii. 3) literally means to make hard or
insensible^ the other (as in x. i) to make heauy^ that is,
unimpressionable, and the third (as in xiv. 4), to make firm
or stiffs so as to be immovable. Now it is remarkable, that of
the twenty passages which speak of Pharaoh's hardening, exactly
ten ascribe it to Pharaoh himself, and ten to God,^ and that ki

^ Ex. iv. 21. 2 Ex. vii. 3.

3 Perhaps we ought to mark that ten is the number of completeness. The
ten passages in which the hardening is traced to Pharaoh himself are i
Ex. vii. 13 (*' the heart of Pharaoh was firm " or " stiff") ; ver. 14 ("was
heavy"); ver. 22 ("firm"); viii. 15 ("made heavy"); ver. 19 (was
"firm"); ver. 32; ix. 7, 34 ("lieavy"); ver. 35 ("firm"); xiii. 15
("Pharaoh made hard," viz., his heart). The ten passages in which it
is traced to the agency of God are : Ex. iv. 21 ; vii. 3 ; Ix. 12 ; x. I ; x. 20 ;
X. 27 ; xi. 10 ; xiv. 4 ; xiv. 8 ; xiv. 17.

6o The JExodiis.

both cases precisely the same three terms are used. Thus the
making " hard," " heavy," and " firm " of the heart is exactly as
often and in precisely the same terms traced to the agency ot
Pharaoh himself as to that of God. As a German writer aptly
remarks : " The effect of the one is the hardening of man to
his own destruction ; that of the other, the hardening of man to
the glory of God." Proceeding further, we find that, with the
exception of the two passages^ in which the Divine agency in
hardening is beforehand announced to Moses for his instruc-
tion, the hardening process is during the course of the actual
history, in the first place, traced only to Pharaoh himself.
Thus, before the ten plagues, and when Aaron first proved
his Divine mission by converting the rod into a serpent,^
" the heart of Pharaoh was hardened," that is, by himself
(vers. 13, 14).^ Similarly, after each of the first five plagues
(vii. 22; viii. 15 : viii. ig; viii. 32 ; ix. 7) the hardening is also
expressly attributed to Pharaoh himself Only when still re-
sisting after the sixth plague do we read for the first time, that
*'the Lord made firm the heart of Pharaoh" (ix. 12). But
even so, space for repentance must have been left, for after the
seventh plague we read again (ix. 34) that " Pharaoh made
heavy his heart ;" and it is only after the eighth plague that the
agency is exclusively ascribed to God.

Moreover, we have to consider the progress of this hardening
on the part of Pharaoh, by which at last his sin became ripe
for judgment. It was not only that he resisted the demand
of Moses, even in view of the miraculous signs by which
his mission was attested ; but that, step by step, the hand of
God became more clearly manifest, till at last he was, by his
own confession, "inexcusable." If the first sign of converting
the rod into a serpent could in a certain manner be coun-
terfeited by the Egyptian magicians, yet Aaron's rod swallowed
up theirs (vii. 12). But after the third plague, the magicians

' Ex. iv. 21 and vii. 3. ^ Ex. vii. 10.

' The rendering in our Authorised Version conveys a wrong impression,
as if God had hardened Pharaoh's heart.

The judgment of hardeniitg. 6l

themselves confessed their inabihty to carry on the contest,
declaring: "This is the finger of God" (viii. 19). If
any doubt had still been left upon his mind, it must have
been removed by the evidence presented after the fifth plague
(ix. 7), when " Pharaoh sent, and, behold, there was not one
of the cattle of the Israelites dead." Some of the Egyptians,
at least, had profited by this lesson, and on the announcement
of the seventh plague housed their cattle from the predicted
hail and fire (ix. 20, 21). Lastly, after that seventh plague,
Pharaoh himself acknowledged his sin and wrong (ix. 27),
and promised to let Israel go (ver. 28). Yet after all,
on its removal, he once more hardened his heart (ver. 35) !
Can we wonder that such high-handed and inexcusable re-
beUion should have been ripe for the judgment which appeared
in the Divine hardening of his heart? Assuredly in such a
contest between the pride and daring of the creature and
the might of the Lord God, the truth of this Divine de-
claration had to be publicly manifested : " Even for this
purpose have I raised thee up, that I might show My power
in thee, and that My name might be declared throughout all
the earth." 1

For the long-suffering and patience of God will not always
wait. It is indeed most true, that " God hath no pleasure in
the death of the wicked, but rather that he be converted and
live /'^ and that He " will have all men come to the knowledge
of the truth and be saved." ^ But "he that being often
reproved hardeneth his neck, shall suddenly be destroyed, and
that without remedy."* The same manifestation of God
which to the believing is " a savour of hfe unto life," is to those
who resist it " a savour of death unto death." As one has
written, " the sunlight shining upon our earth produces opposite
results according to the nature of the soil." In Scripture
language :^ " the earth which drinketh in the rain that cometli

* Rom. ix. 17. - Ezek. xxxiii. 11.

' I Tim. ii. 4, comp. 2 Pet. iii. 9 * Pro v. xxix. i.

^ ricb. vi. 7, S.

62 The Exodus,

oft upon it, and bringeth forth herbs meet for them by
whom it is dressed, receiveth blessing from God : but that
which beareth thorns and briars is rejected, and is nigh unto
cursing ; whose end is to be burned." Or, as a German writer
puts it : " It is the curse of sin that it makes the hard heart
ever harder against tlie gracious drawing of the Divine love,
patience, and long-suffering." Thus they who harden them-
selves fall at last under the Divine judgment of hardening, with
all the terrible consequences which it involves.

Hitherto we have only traced this as it appears in the
course of Pharaoh's history. There are, however, deeper
bearings of the question, connected with the Divine dealings,
the sovereignty, and the power of God. For such inquiries this
is obviously not the place. Suffice it to draw some practical
lessons. First and foremost, we learn the insufficiency of even
the most astounding miracles to subdue the rebellious will, to
change the heart, or to subject a man unto God. Our blessed
Lord Himself has said of a somewhat analogous case, that men
would not beheve even though one rose from the dead.^ And
His statement has been only too amply verified in the history
of the world since His own resurrection. Religion is matter
of the heart, and no intellectual conviction, without the agency
of the Holy Spirit, affects the inmost springs of our lives.
Secondly, a more terrible exhibition of the daring of human
pride, the confidence of worldly power, and the deceitfulness
of sin than that presented by the history of this Pharaoh can
scarcely be conceived. And yet the lesson seems to have
been overlooked by too many ! Not only sacred history but
possibly our own experience may furnish instances of similar
tendencies ; and in the depths of his own soul each believer
must have felt his danger in this respect, for " the heart is
deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked." Lastly,
resistance to God must assuredly end in fearful judgment.
Each conviction suppressed, each admonition stifled, each
loving offer rejected, tends towards increasing spiritual in-
^ Luke xvi. 31.

The meanmg of IsraeVs Deliveraiice. 6

sensibility, and that in which it ends. It is wisdom and safety
to watch for the blessed influences of God's Spirit, and to
throw open our hearts to the sunlight of His graoe.

CHAPTER VI.i

JlW^0 ait!b ^-axow Ii^liber i\\zxx JKessap t^ |3haraoh—
Incti^aiseb ©i^t^xzq^xoxi xrf l0rael— gi^cowraijemeiit xxf
^^oQZQ—'^mon 5hxrto0 a gign— (l^n^rai iji^to anb
^nalgsi^ ai znzh oi the %z\x *' <Stote/' ax f iagues.

(Exodus v.-xir. 30.)

THE predicted trial was soon to come. Provoked through
the daring of man, who would measure his strength against
that of the living God, it was to establish two facts for all ages
and to all mankind. In sight of Egypt (Ex. vii. 5) and of
Israel (x. 2) it was to evidence that God was Jehov^ah, the
only true and the living God, far above all power of men and
of gods.^ This was one aspect of the judgments which were
to burst upon Egypt.^ The other was, that He was the faithful
Covenant-God, who remembered His promises, and would
bring out His people " with a stretched-out arm and with great
judgments," to take them to Himself for a people, and to be
to them a God (vi. 1-8). These are the eternal truths which
underlie the history of Israel's deliverance from Egypt. How
Israel had understood and taught them to their children, appears
from many passages of Scripture, especially from Ps. Ixxviii.
and cv. Nor is their application less suited to our wants. It
exhibits alike the Law and the Gospel — the severity and the
goodness of God — and may be summed up in that grand
proclamation unto all the world : " Jehovah reigneth."*

1 The understanding of this chapter especially will be greatly enhanced
by comparing, it throughout with the Bible-text. The object has been not
only to tell the history, but, so far as might be within our limits, to explain
the statements of Scripture.

'^ Ex. ix. 14. 3 Rom. ix. 1 7. * Ps. xcix. i.

64 The Exodus,

The sacred narrative here consists of two parts : the one pre-
paratory, so far as all parties in this history are concerned —
Pharaoh, Israel, and Moses ; the other describing the succes-
sive "signs" in which Jehovah manifested Himself and Hii
power, and by which He achieved both the deliverance ot
Israel and His judgments upon Pharaoh and Egypt. And here
we shall notice successive progress : exter7ially in the character
of the plagues sent by God, and iiiternally in their effect upon
Pharaoh and his people.

Twice, before the plagues laid low the pride of Egypt,
Moses and Aaron had to appear before Pharaoh : once with
a simple message (v. 1-5), the second time both with a
message and a sign to attest their mission (vi. 10-13 ;
vii. 8-13). In this also we mark the Divine condescension
and goodness. If at the first interview the king could say :
" Who is Jehovah, that I should obey His voice to let Israel go ?
I know not Jehovah, neither will I let Israel go " (v. 2), it
became impossible to urge this plea, when, at the king's
challenge, " Shew a miracle for you " (vii. 9), Aaron's rod
was changed into a serpent. This proved beyond doubt
that Jehovah was God, and that He had commissioned His
servants, since they wielded His power. The only question
still possible was, whether the gods whom Pharaoh served were
equal to the Lord. For this purpose the king summoned
his magicians, who imitated, in a certain way, the miracle of
Aaron. But even so, the inferiority of their power was proved,
when " Aaron's rod swallowed up their rods." This assuredly —
even taking their own profession of miracle-working — should
have been sufficient to indicate to Pharaoh that " Jehovah, He
is God " — had his hardness of heart admitted of such convic-
tion. But as between Moses' and Aaron's first and second
interview with Pharaoh important events occurred, it may be
well briefly to record them again in their order.

After the first interview, in which Moses and Aaron had
simply delivered the Divine command, Pharaoh, who had
pleaded ignorance of Jehovah (that is, of His Deity and claims),

IsraeVs Burdens are increased. 65

professed to regard the demand of Moses as a mere pretence
to procure a series of holidays for the people. They were
^'vain words" (v. 9) "to let the people from their works"
(ver. 4). As " the people of the land " — that is, the Israelites,
the labouring class — were " many." to " make them rest from
their burdens " (ver. 5) would inflict great damage upon the
king. To prevent their having either time or inclination to
listen to such suggestions, the king ordered that, while the old
amount of work should continue to be exacted, the straw needful
for making the sun-dried bricks (such as we find in the monu-
ments of Eg}^pt) should no longer be supplied. The time
requisite for gathering " stubble instead of straw " prevented, of
course, their fulfilling their " daily tasks." The punishment then
fell upon the Israehtish " officers," or rather " scribes," whom
the Egyptian " taskmasters " had set over the work and held
responsible for it. An appeal to Pharaoh only explained the
cause of his increased severity, and the " officers " of a people
which but lately had acknowledged that God had visited them,
not seeing that visitation, but rather seemingly the opposite,
ventured in their unbelief to appeal to Jehovah against
Moses and Aaron ! So rapidly do the results of a faith
which cometh only by the hearing of the ear give way before
discouragements.

As for Moses, the hour of his severest trial had now come.
With the words of Israel's complaint he went straight to tlie
Lord, yet, as St. Augustine remarks, not in the language of
contumacy or of anger, but of inquiry and prayer. To his
question : " Lord, wherefore hast Thou so evil entreated this
people?" (v. 22) — as so often to our inquiries into God's
" Wherefore " — no reply of any kind was made. " What I do
thou knowest not now, but thou shaltknow hereafter." To us,
indeed, the " need be " of making the yoke of Egypt as galling
as possible seems now evident, as we remember how the heart
of the people clung to the flesh-pots of Egypt, even after they
had tasted the heavenly manna ■} and the yet higher " need be

^ Numb. xi.

66 The Exodus.

for it," since the lower Israel's condition and the more tyrannical
Pharaoh's oppression, the more glorious the triumph of Jehovah,
and the more complete the manifestation of His enemy's im-
potence. But in Moses it only raised once more, at this
season of depression, the question of his fitness for the work
which he had undertaken. For when Satan cannot otherwise
oppose, he calls forth in us unbelieving doubts as to our aptitude
or call for a work. The direction which Moses now received
from God applies, in principle, to all similar cases. It con-
veyed a fresh assurance that God would certainly accomphsh His
purpose ; it gave a fuller revelation of His character as Jehovah,
with the special promises which this impHed (vi. 2-8) ; and it
renewed the commission to Moses to undertake the work,
accompanied by encouragements and assurances suitable in the
circumstances.

One point here claims special attention, not only on
account of the difficulties which it presents to the general
reader, but also because its lessons are so precious. When, on
the occasion just referred to, God said to Moses (Ex. vi. 2, 3) :
" I am Jehovah : and I appeared unto Abraham, unto Isaac,
and unto Jacob in El Shaddai (God Almighty)^ but as to My
n.2iTCiQ Jehovah was I not known to them,"^ it cannot, of course,
mean, that the patriarchs were ignorant of the special designa-
tion y<f/^^z;^//, since it frequently occurs in their history.'^ To
understand this passage aright, we must bear in mind the mean-
ing of the expression " name " as apphed to God, and that of the
term " Jehovah." By the " name of God " we are of course to
understand not a mere appellation of God, but that by which
He makes Himself known to man. Now Scripture teaches us
that we only know God in so far as He vmriifesfs, or reveals
Himself Hence the peculiar na?ne of God indicates the pecu-
liar manner in which He had manifested Himself, or, in other

* Such is the literal rendering, -which in part may remove some of the
difficulties.

'This view is, however, entertained by some — notably by Josephus,
who holds that the name Jehovah was first revealed to Moses.

The Name of Jehovah first manifested to Israel. 67

words, the character of His deahngs at the time. Now the
character of God's dealings — and therefore His name — was in
patriarchal times unquestionably El Shaddai (Gen. xvii. i ;
XXXV. II ; xlviii. 3). But His manifestation as Jehovah — the
dealings by which, in the sight of all men, He made Himself
known as such — belonged not to that, but to a later period. For
the term "Jehovah" literally means, "He who is," which agrees
with the explanation given by God Himself: " He who is that
He is."^ As here used, the word '•^ to be'' refers not to the
essential nature of God, but to His relationship towards man.
In that relationship God manifested Himself, and He was
known as Jehovah — as " He who is that He is," in other words,
as unchangeable — when, after centuries of silence, and after the
condition of Israel in Egypt had become almost hopeless, He
showed that He had not forgotten His promise given to the
fathers, that He had all along been preparing its fulfilment ; and
that neither the resistance of Pharaoh nor the might of Egypt
could stay His hand. Viewed in this light, the distinction be-
tween the original El Shaddai manifestation to the patriarchs
and the Jehovah knowledge vouchsafed to the children of Israel
becomes both clear and emphatic.

But to return. The first interview of Moses with Pharaoh
had served to determine the relationship of all parties in refer-
ence to the Divine command. It had brought out the enmity
of Pharaoh, ripening for judgment ; the unbelief of Israel, need-
ing much discipline ; and even the weakness of Moses. There,
at the outset of his work, even as the Lord Jesus at the com-
mencement of His ministr}% he was tempted of the adversary,
and overcame by the word of God. Yet how great in this
also, is the difference between the type and the Antitype !

Still, though hardly fought, the contest was gained, and
Moses and Aaron confronted a second time the king of Egypt.
On this occasion Aaron, when challenged by Pharaoh, proved
his right to speak in the name of God. He cast down his rod,
and it became a serpent, and although "the magicians of
^ Ex. iii. 14.

F 2

6S The Exodus.

Egypt " " did in like manner with their enchantments/' the
superiority of Aaron appeared when his "rod swallowed up
their rods." Without here entering into the general question
oi magic before the coming of our Lord, or of the power which
the devil and his agents may have wielded on earth before our
Saviour subdued his might, and led captivity captive, there was
really nothing in what the Egyptian magicians did that Eastern
jugglers do not profess to this day. To make a serpent stiff
and to look like a rod, and then again suddenly to restore it to
life, are among the commonest tricks witnessed by travellers.
St. Paul mentions the names of Jannes and Jambres as those
who " withstood Moses,"^ and his statement is not only con-
firmed by Jewish tradition, but even referred to by the Roman
writer Pliny. Both their names are Egyptian, and one of them
occurs in an ancient Egyptian document. In this connection
it is also important to notice, that the Hebrew term for " the
serpent," into which Aaron's rod was changed, is not that
commonly used, but bears a more specific meaning. It is not
the same term as that for the serpent (fiachash) by which Moses
was to accredit his mission before his own people,^ but it
indicated the kind of serpent {tan?iin) specially used by
Egyptian conjurers, and bore pointed reference to the serpent
as the great symbol of Egypt. ^ Hence also the expression
"dragon," which is the proper rendering of the word, is fre-
quently in Scripture used to denote Egypt.* Accordingly
Pharaoh should have understood that, when Aaron's rod
swallowed up the others, it pointed to the vanquishment of
Egypt, and the executing of judgment " against all the gods
of Egypt."^ Wilfully to shut his eyes to this, and to regard
Aaron and Moses as magicians whom his own equalled in

» 2 Tim. iii. 8. ' Ex. iv. 3, 4.

^ "It occurs in the Eg}'ptian ritual, c. 163, nearly in the same form,
*Tanem,' as a synonym of the monster serpent which represents the
principle of antagonism to light and life." — Speaker's Covimoitary, vol. i,
p, 276, note 10.

* Ps. Ixxiv. 13 ; Is. xxvii. I ; li. 9 ; Ezek. xxix. 3 ; xxxii. 2.

* Ex. xii. 12.

Progress and Duration of the Ten Plagues. 69

power, was to harden his heart, and to call down those terrible
plagues which ushered in the final judgment upon Pharaoh and
his people.

Before describing in detail the plagues of Egypt, a few
general remarks will be helpful to our understanding of the
subject.

1. The plagues were miraculous — yet not so much in them-
selves as in the time, the manner, and the measure in which they
came upon Egypt. None of them was wholly unknown in
Egypt, but had visited the land at some time or other, and in
some measure. As so often, the Lord here employed ordinary
natural events. The supernaturalness of the plagues consisted
in their severity, their successive occurrence, their coming and
going at the word of Moses, their partial extent, and the
unusual seasons and manner in which they appeared.

2. We mark in them a regular arrangement and steady
progress. Properly speaking, they were only nine plagues
(3 X 3); the tenth "stroke"^ being in reality the com-
mencement of judgment by Jehovah Himself, when He went
out " into the midst of Egypt " to slay its firstborn. Of these
nine, the first three were in connection with that ai^er_ajKL_spil
which formed the boast of Egypt, and the object of its worship.
They extended over the wJwle country^ and at the third the
magicians confessed : " This is the finger of God." By them
the land was laid low in its pride a.nd in its religion. The
other six came exclusively upon the Egyptians, as the Lord
had said : " I will put a division between My people and
thy people," " to the end that thou mayest know that I am
Jehovah in the midst of the land."'^ If the first three plagues
had shown the impotence of Egypt, the others proved that
Jehovah reigned even in the midst of Egypt. Finally, the
three last " strokes " were not only far more terrible than any

^ This is the literal meaning of the word rendered "plague," Ex. xi. i.
Philo, however, and most interpreters, speak of ten plagues, and regard
that number as symbolical of completeness.

^ Ex. viii. 22, 23. So litcrall}-, and not " earth."

70 The Exodus.

of the others, but intended to make Pharaoh know "that there
is none like Me in all the earth."^ To show that Jehovah, He
is God ; that He was such in the midst of Egypt ; and finally,
that there was none like Him in the midst of all the earth — or,
that Jehovah was the living and the true God — such was the
threefold object of these " strokes."

3. In reference to the duration of these strokes, the interval
between them, and the length of time occupied by all, we
know that the first plague lasted seven days,^ and that the
killing of the firstborn and the Passover occurred in the night
of the fourteenth Abib (or Nisan), corresponding to about the
beginning of April. In reference to the seventh plague (that
of the hail), we have this statement to guide us as to its time:^
" the flax and the barley was smitten : for the barley was in the
ear, and the flax was boiled (or in blossom). But the wheat
and the rice (or rather the spelt) were not smitten : for they
were not grown." This would fix the time as about the end of
January or the beginning of February, giving an interval of at
least eight weeks between the seventh and the tenth stroke, or, if
we might take this as an average, of more than two weeks between
each plague. Computed at this rate, the first " stroke " would
have fallen in September or October, that is, after the cessation
of the annual overflow of the Nile. But this seems unlikely,
not only because the red colouring ordinarily appears in the river
at the commencement of its increase, but because the expressions
(vii. 19, 21) seem to imply that the river was then at its rise
(and not on the decrease), and especially because just before
this the Israelites are represented as gathering " stubble " for
their bricks, which must have been immediately after the
harvest, or about the end of April. Hence it seems more likely
(as most interpreters suppose) that the first "stroke" fell upon
Egypt about the middle of June, in which case from the first
" plague " an interval of about ten months would have elapsed
prior to the slaying of the firstborn. All this time did the
Lord deal with Egypt, and Pharaoh was on his trial !

* Ex. ix. 14. "^ Ex. vii. 25. ' Ex. ix, 31, 32.

TJie First ''Stroke'' or ''Plague!' yi

There is, as we have already indicated, a terrible irony about
" the plagues " of Egypt, since in the things in which Egypt
exalted itself it was laid low. We seem to hear it throughout :
" He that sitteth in the heavens shall laugh : the Lord shall
have them in derision."^ This will appear more clearly as we
briefly consider each of the " strokes."

The first "stroke,'' or "plague.'" Early in the morning,
during the rise of the Nile, Pharaoh goes down to the river to
offer unto its waters the customary Divine worship. Probably,
he was accompanied by his wise men and magicians. Here
he is confronted by Moses with the message of God. On his
refusal to listen, Moses smites, as he had threatened, the
waters with the rod of God, and the Nile, in all its branches,
canals, cisterns^ and reservoirs,^ becomes red, like blood. Such
a change of colour in the Nile was by no means uncommon, or
Pharaoh would scarcely have quite hardened his heart against the
miracle. In ordinary times this appearance of the river arises
partly from the red earth, which the swollen waters carry with
them, and partly from the presence of small cryptogamic
plants and animalcules (infusoria). The supernaturalness of
the event lay in its suddenness, in its appearance at the
command of Moses, and in the now altered qualities of the
water. '' The fish that was in the river died " — thus depriving
the people of one of the main staples of their food ; " and the
river stank, and the Egyptians could not drink of the water of
the river," thus cutting off" the main supply of their drink.
Somehow the magicians, however, contrived to imitate this
miracle, probably on some of the water that had been drawn
before "the rod" had smitten the river. And so for seven
days, throughout the whole land of Egypt, the blood-like, un-
drinkable water in every household "vessel of wood" or of
earthenware, and in the large stone troughs which stood for
general use in the corners of streets and on village-roads, bore
testimony for Jehovah. And the Egyptians had to dig round

' Ps. ii. 4.

^ This is the correct rendering of the expressions in Ex. vii. 19.

72 The Exodus.

about the river, that their drinking-water might be filtered for
use. But " Pharaoh turned and went into his house, neither
did he set his heart to this also."

The second '•'• stroke'' or '"'• plague'' — that of the frogs — was
also in connection with the river Nile. At the same time it
must be remembered that the frog was also connected with the
most ancient forms of idolatry in Egypt, so that what was the
object of their worship once more became their curse. Here
also a natural occurrence, not uncommon in Egypt, rendered
Pharaoh's unbelief not impossible. After the annual inundation
of the Nile the mud not uncommonly produces thousands
of frogs — called by the Arabs to this day by the name corre-
sponding to the term used in the Bible. These frogs " are
small, do not leap much, are much like toads, and fill the
whole country with their croaking. They are rapidly con-
sumed by the ibis, which thus preserves the land from the
stench described in Ex. viii. 14."^ The supernaturalness of
the visitation lay in their extraordinary number and trouble-
someness (viii. 3), and in their appearance at the bidding of
Moses. The magicians here also succeeded in imitating Moses
upon a small scale. But apparently they were wholly unable
to remove the plague, and Pharaoh had to ask the intercession
of Moses, at the same time promising to let the people go.
To give the king yet further proof that *' the stroke " was not
natural but of God, Moses left Pharaoh the option of himself
fixing what time he pleased for their removal : " Glory over
me : when shall I entreat for thee ?" (viii. 9) — that is. let me
not fix a time, but let me yield to thee the glory of fixing the
exact time for the cessation of the plague. " But when Pharaoh
saw that there was respite (literally, enlargement, breathing-
space), he made heavy his heart."

The third stroke^ as always the third in each of the

three series of plagues, ca7tie wiajinounced to Pharaoh, and

consisted, not exactly of what we call " lice," but rather of a

kind of small insects, scarcely visible, but which penetrate

' Speaka's Commentary, vol. i. p. 279, note.

The third and fourth "Strokes" 73

e^^eryvvhere and cause the most intense inconvenience. Sir S.
Baker describes this visitation of vermin, which is not un-
common after the rice-harvest, in almost the words of Scripture :
" It is as though the very dust were turned into hce." The
" plague " came when Aaron, as directed by God, had smitten
the dust of the earth with his rod. As twice before the river,
so now the fertile soil, which the Egyptians also worshipped,
became their curse. In vain the magicians tried to imitate
this miracle. Their power was foiled. But, to neutrahse the
impression, they " said unto Pharaoh, This is the finger of
Elohim" (viii. 19) — the result of the power of a God. He
has done this. Therefore, being in no way due to Moses and
Aaron, it cannot confirm their demand. We are vanquished,
yet not by Moses and Aaron, but by a Divine power equally
superior to them and to us. Therefore " Pharaoh's heart was
hardened " (" made firm " and insensible).

And now in the second series of plagues commenced the
distinction between the Egyptians and Israel,^ the latter being
exempted from " the strokes," to show that it was not " the
finger of Elohim merely," but that He was "Jehovah in the
midst of the land" of Egypt (viii. 22). For the same reason,
Moses and Aaron were not used as instruments in the fourth
and fifth plagues. They were simply ajinojmced to Pharaoh by
the messengers of Jehovah, but inflicted by God Himself, to
show that they came directly from His hand.

The fourth stroke consisted of swarms of so-called dog-flies,
which not only infested the houses, but " corrupted the land "
by depositing everywhere their eggs. This "plague"- is to
this day most troublesome, painful, and even dangerous, as
these animals fasten upon every uncovered surfiice, especially
the eyelids and corners of the e}es, and their bites cause

* The word does not properly mean "division" (as in our Authorised
Version, viii. 23), but, in the first place, deliverance, salvation, and also sepa-
ration, distinction, and selection. Thus the Hebrew term, as the reality^
connects the two ideas of salvation and separation.

- Comp. Ps. Ixxviii. 45.

74 The Exodus.

severe inflammation. It was announced to Pharaoh, as he went
to the river early in the morning (viii. 20), as has been sug-
gested, probably " with a procession, in order to open the solemn
festival which was held one hundred and twenty days after the
first rise " of the Nile {i.e. about the end of October or early in
November). Although it wrung from Pharaoh consent for the
people to go, yet on its removal, " he hardened his heart at this
time also" — perhaps because in this and the next plague he
did not see the instrumentality of Moses, and therefore fell
back upon the theory of the magicians about "the finger of
Elohim."

The fifth stroke was a very grievous murrain (not uncommon
in Eg}^pt), which has been supposed to have been of the same
kind as the " cattle-plague " in our own country, only far more
extensive. But although Pharaoh ascertained, by special in-
quiry, that Israel had been exempted from this plague, his
heart was hardened.

The sixth stroke was again made to descend by the instru-
mentality of Moses and Aaron. As the third in the second
series, it came without any warning to the king. Moses and
Aaron were directed to take " ashes of the furnace " — probably
in reference to the great buildings and pyramids in which
Egypt took such pride — and to "sprinkle it up towards
heaven ; and it became a boil breaking forth with blains upon
man and upon beast" (ix. 10). Such "burning tumours
breaking into pustulous ulcers," but exclusively confined to
man, are not uncommon in the valley of the Nile.^ Even the
magicians seem now to have yielded (ver. 1 1), but the judg-
ment of hardening had already come upon Pharaoh.

The sixth plague had struck not the pride only, nor the
possessions of the Egyptians, but their persons. But the three
which now followed in rapid succession, stroke upon stroke, were
far more terrible than any that had preceded, and indeed repre-
sented "all" God's "plagues" (ver. 14). They were ushered

' A modem writer has supposed them to have been the black-looix:ing,
foul ulcers symbolized by the black, rusty ashes of the furnaces.

The sixth, seventh, and eighth ^^ Strokes!' 75

in by a most solemn warning, unheeded by him who was nigh
unto destruction (vers. 15-18). The reason why God did
not at once destroy Pharaoh and his people is thus stated
by the Lord Himself:^ "For now if I had stretched forth
My hand and smitten thee and thy people with the pes-
tilence, then hadst thou been cut off from the earth. But
now in very deed for this cause have I let thee stand (made
thee stand, raised thee up),^ for to show in thee My power
(perhaps, to let thee see or experience it — this is the first
reason; the second) — and that My Name may be declared
throughout all the earth." That this actually was the result we
gather from Exodus xv. 14. Nay, the tidings spread not only
among the Arabs, but long afterwards among the Greeks and
Romans, and finally, through the Gospel, among all nations
of the earth.

Only one day for thought and repentance was granted to
Pharaoh (ix. 18) before the seve7ith stroke descended. It con-
sisted of such hail as had never been seen in Egypt, mingled
with thunder and fiery lightning. The cattle in Egypt are
left out to graze from January to April, and such of the
Egyptians as gave heed to the warning of Moses withdrew
their cattle and servants into shelter, and so escaped the
consequences ; the rest suffered loss of men and beasts. That
some " among the servants of Pharaoh " " feared the word of
Jehovah" (ix. 20) affords evidence of the spiritual effect of
these " strokes." Indeed Pharaoh himself now owned : "I
have sinned this time" (ver. 27). But this very limitation, and
the hardening of his heart when the calamity ceased, show
that his was only the fear of consequences, and, as Moses had
said, "that ye will not yet fear Jehovah Elohim" (ver. 30).

A very decided advance will be marked in connection with
the eighth stroke. For here Moses and Aaron, on the ground
of Pharaoh's former confession of sin, bring this message
from God to him : " How long wilt thou refuse to humble

1 Ex. ix. 15, 16. We give the correct rendering of the passage.
^ Rom. ix. 17.

76 The Exodus.

tHyself before Me?"^ Similarly, "Pharaoh's servants," v/arned
by previous judgments, now expostulate with the king (x. 7),
and he himself seems willing to let the male Israelites go for
a short season, provided they left their families and flocks
behind. On the other hand, the hardening of Pharaoh's heart
has also so far advanced, that, on Moses' refusal to submit to
conditions, the king bursts into such daring taunts as (vers.
10, 11):^ "So be it! Jehovah be with you as I will let go
you and your little ones. Look ! for evil is before your faces "
{i.e. your intentions are evil; or, perhaps, it may be rendered:
See to it ! for beware, danger is before you). " Not so ! Go
then^ ye men, for that ye are seeking " (the language evidently
ironical). And they were driven out from Pharaoh's presence.
And thus it came, that when " Moses stretched forth his rod
over the land of Egypt, Jehovah brought an east wind upon
the land all that day, and all that night ; and when it was
morning the east wind brought^ the locusts." Once more they
were natural means which the Lord used. For the plague of
locusts was common in Egypt. Even the heathens used to
regard this as a special visitation of God. In Scripture it
serves as the emblem of the last judgments coming upon our
earth.* This " plague," so much dreaded at all times, came
now slowly, from far-off Arabia,^ upon the devoured land, more
grievous than such visitation had ever been known, and to the
utter destruction of every green thing still left in Egypt —
Goshen alone being again excepted. Pharaoh felt it, and for
the first time not only confessed his sin, but asked forgive-
ness, and entreated that "this death" might be taken away
(x. 16, 17). Not for want of knowledge, then, did Pharaoh
harden himself after that. Yet now also it was not repentance,
but desire for removal of "this death," that had influenced

^ Ex. X. 3. ^ We give the literal translations.

' Or "carried." The storm literally carries the swarm of locusts.

* Rev. ix. 3-10.

* Generally, it is not the east but the south wind that brings the locusts,
from Ethiopia or Lybia. It was purposely from a long distance that they
were sent, to show that Jehovah reigned everywhere.

77

Pharaoh. No sooner had his request been granted, than his
rebellion returned.

Once more unannounced came the ii'mth stroke, more terril ;le
than any that had preceded. A thick darkness covered the
whole land, except Goshen. There was this peculiar phe-
nomenon about it, that, not only were the people unable to see
each other, but ''neither rose any from his place for three
days." It was literally, as Scripture has it, a " darkness which
might be felt " — the darkness of a great sand-storm, such as
the Cham sill or south-west wind sometimes brings in early
spring, only far more severe, intense, and long. Let us try to
realise the scene. Suddenly and without warning would the
Chamsin rise. The air, charged with electricity, draws up the
fine dust and the coarser particles of sand till the light of
the sun is hid, the heavens are covered as with a thick veil,
and darkness deepens into such night that even artificial light
is of no avail. And the floating dust and sand enter every
apartment, pervade eveiy pore, find their way even through
closed windows and doors. Men and beasts make for any
kind of shelter, seek refuge in cellars and out-of-the-way
places from the terrible plague. And so, in utter darkness
and suffering, three weary nights and long days pass, no one
venturing to stir from his hiding. Once more, Pharaoh now
summoned Moses. This time he would let all the people go,
if only they would leave their flocks behind as pledge of their
return. And when Moses refused the condition, the king
" said unto him, Get thee from me, take heed to thyself; see
my face no more ; for in that day thou seest my face thou
shalt die" (x. 28). It was a challenge which sounded not
strange in Moses' ears, for before this interview God had in-
formed him what would happen,^ and directed that Israel

^ The three first verses of Ex. xi. must have been spoken to Moses be^ ore
his last interview with Pharaoh. Verse i should be rendered: "And
Jehovah had said unto Moses," etc. They are inserted after x. 29, because
they account for and explain the confident reply with which Moses met tlie
challenge of Pharaoh, Evidently, xi. 4, and what follows, form part of
that reply of Moses to Pharaoh which begins in x. 29.

yS The Exodus.

should prepare to leave. And Moses now took up the king^'s
challenge, and foretold how after those terrible three days'
darkness " at midnight," Jehovah Himself would " go out into
the midst of Egypt," and smite every firstborn of man and
beast. Then would rise through the night a great lament all
over the land, from the chamber of the palace, where Pharaoh's
only son^ lay a-dying, to that of the hut where the lowhest
maidservant watched the ebbing tide of her child's life.

But in Goshen all these three days was light and festive joy.
For while thick darkness lay upon Egypt, the children of
Israel, as directed by God, had already on the tenth of the
month — four days before the great night of woe — selected
their Paschal lambs, and were in waiting for their deliverance.
And alike the darkness and the light were of Jehovah — the
one symbolical of His judgments, the other of His favour.

CHAPTER VII.

^he ^asfjsjober ani its 0riittantc0 — %\it Chtltircn ssi
Israel kabe @92pt — iUhctr Jfirst llesting-:{jlaces —
^\it pillar ai CHlaui) anb ai Jfir^— JPrtrsuit ai ^haraxrh
— J3a00ajje thr0ttgk the S^b <Sea — gestrtidian;. nf
JPharaoh aiti^ kis ^ost— ^ke <S0nij " xm tkc x)tker sib^."

(Exodus xii.-xv. 21.)

EVERY ordinance had been given to Israel about the
Paschal feast,'- and observed by them. On the tenth
day of the month Ahib (the month of ears, so called, because
in it the ears of wheat first appear), or, as it was afterwards

' If, as we have argued in this volume, the monarch under whom the
Exodus took place was Thothmes il., it is remarkable that he left no son,
but was succeeded by his widow ; so that in that night Pharaoh's only son
was slain with the firstborn of Egypt.

^ Later Jewish ordinances distinguish between the so-called "Egyptian
Passover"— that is, as it was enjoined for the first night of its celebration —

Paschal Ordinances. 79

called, iV/i-^;?/ the "Passover" sacrifice was chosen by each
household.

This •w2iS four days before the "Passover" actually took
place — most probably in remembrance of the prediction to
Abraham,^ that " in the fourth generation " the children of
Israel should come again to the land of Canaan. The sacri-
fice might be a lamb or a kid of goats,^ but it must be
" without blemish, a male of the first year." Each lamb or
kid should be just sufficient for the sacrificial meal of a
company, so that if a family were too small, it should join with
another.* The sacrifice was ofi"ered " between the evenings "
by each head of the company, the blood caught in a basin, and
some of it " struck " " on the two side-posts and the upper
door-post of the houses" by means of "a branch of hyssop."
The latter is not the hyssop with which we are familiar, but
most probably the caper^ which grows abundantly in Egypt, in
the desert of Sinai, and in Palestine. In ancient times this
plant was regarded as possessing cleansing properties. The
direction, to sprinkle the entrance, meant that the blood was to
be applied to the house itself, that is, to make atonement for
it, and in a sense to convert it into an altar. Seeing this blood,
Jehovah, when He passed through to smite the Egyptians,
would "pass over the door," so that it would "not be granted^
the destroyer to come in" unto their dwellings.^ Thus the term
"Passover," or Fascha, literally expresses the meaning and
object of the ordinance.

and the "Permanent Passover," as it was to be observed by Israel after
their possession of the Land of Promise. The sacrificial lamb was to be
offered "between the evenings" (Ex. xii. 6, marginal rendering), that is,
according to Jewish tradition, from the time the sun begins to decline to
that of its full setting, say, between 3 and 6 o'clock p.m.

^ Esther iii. 7 ; Neh. ii. i. "^ Gen. xv. 16.

3 The Hebrew word means either of the two. See Ex. xii. 5 ; Deut.
xvi. 2.

* Later Jewish ordinances fixed the number of a company at a minimum
of ten, and a maximum of twenty, persons.

" Such is the literal rendering. ^ Ex. xii. 23.

8o The Exodus.

While all around the destroyer laid waste every Egyptian
household, each company within the blood-sprinkled houses of
Israel was engaged in the sacrificial meal. This consisted of
the Paschal lamb, and "unleavened bread with," or rather
" upon, bitter herbs," as if in that solemn hour of judgment and
deliverance they were to have set before them as their proper
meal the symbol of all the bitterness of Egypt, and upon it the
sacrificial lamb and unleavened bread to sweeten and to make
of it a festive supper. For everything here was full of deepest
meaning. The sacrificial lamb, whose sprinkled blood pro-
tected Israel,- pointed to Him whose precious blood is the
only safety of God's people ; the hyssop (as in the qleansing of
the leper, and of those polluted by death, and in Psalm li. 7)
was the symbol of purification; and the unleavened bread
that "of sincerity and truth," in the removal of the "old
leaven " which, as the symbol of corruption, pointed to "the
leaven of malice and wickedness."^ More than that, the
spiritual teaching extended even to details. The lamb was
to be "roast," neither eaten "raw," or rather not properly
cooked (as in the haste of leaving), nor yet " sodden with
water " — the latter because nothing of it was to pass into the
water, nor the water to mingle with it, the lamb and the
lamb alone being the food of the sacrificial company. For a
similar reason it was to be roasted and served up whole —
complete, without break or division, not a bone of it being
broken,^ just as not even a bone was broken of Him who died
for us on the cross.^ And this undividedness of the Lamb
pointed not only to the entire surrender of the Lord Jesus,
but also to our undivided union and communion in and with
Him.* So also none of this lamb was to be kept for another
meal, but that which had not been used must be burnt. Lastly,
those who gathered around this meal were not only all Israelites,
but must all profess their faith in the coming deliverance; since
they were to sit down to it with loins girded, with shoes on

^ I Cor. V. 7. 8. 2 Ex. xii. 46.

' John xix. 33, 36. ■* I Cor. x. 17.

The Paschal Night, 8i

their feet and a staff in their hand, as it were, awaiting the
signal of their redemption, and in readiness for departing from
Egypt.

A nobler spectacle of a people's faith can scarcely be con-
ceived than when, on receiving these ordinances, " the people
bowed the head and worshipped" (xii. 27).^ Any attempt at
description either of Israel's attitude or of the scenes witnessed
when the Lord, passing through the land " about midnight,"
smote each firstborn from the only son of Pharaoh to the child
of the maidservant and the captive, and even the firstborn of
beasts, would only weaken the impression of the majestic
silence of Scripture. Such things cannot be described — at least
otherwise than by comparison with what is yet to follow. Suffice
then, that it was a fit emblem of another " midnight," when the
cry shall be heard : " Behold, the Bridegroom cometh."^ In
that midnight hour did Jehovah execute "judgment against
all the gods of Egypt,"^ showing, as Calvin rightly remarks,
how vain and false had been the worship of those who were
now so powerless to help. That was also the night of
Israel's birth as a nation : of their creation and adoption as the
people of God.* Hence the very order of the year was now
changed. The month of the Passover (Abib) became hence-
forth the first of the year.^ The Paschal supper was made a
perpetual institution, with such new rules as to its future ob-
servance as would suit the people when settled in the land f

^ Not only in faith but in thanksgiving.

^ Matt. XXV. 6. ^ Ex. xii. 12. * Isa. xliii. 15.

^ The later Jews had a twofold computation of the year — the ecclesiastical
year, which began with the month Abib, or Nisan, and by which all the
festivals were arranged ; and the civil year, wliich began in autumn, in the
seventh month of the sacred year. In Egypt the year properly began with
the summer equinox, when the Nile commenced to rise.

^ The arrangement of Ex. xii. should be noted : vers. 1-14 contain the
Divine directions to Moses for the observance of the first Passover ; vers.
15-20 give instructions for tht Jutiire celebration of the feast, enjoined
later (ver. 17), but inserted here in their connection with the history; in vers.
21-27 Moses communicates the will of God to the people ; while ver. 28
records the obedience of Israel.

G

82 The Exodus,

and its observance was to be followed by a "feast of un-
leavened bread," lasting for seven days, when all leaven should
be purged out of their households.^ Finally, the fact that
God had so set Israel apart in the Paschal night and redeemed
them to Himself, was perpetuated in the injunction to
''sanctify" unto the Lord "all the firstborn both of man and
ofbeast."2

When at last this " stroke " descended upon Egypt, Pharaoh
hastily called for Moses and Aaron. In that night of terror he
dismissed the people unconditionally, only asking that, instead
of the curse, a "blessing" might be left behind (xii. 32).
"And the Egyptians were urgent upon the people that they
might send them out of the land in haste, for they said. We be
all dead men." Ere the morning had broken, the children of
Israel were on their march from Rameses, around which mcst of
them had probably been congregated. Their "army" consisted
in round numbers^ of " 600,000 on foot — men, beside children"
(xii. 37), or, as we may compute it, with women and
children, about two milHons. This represents a by no means
incredible increase during the four hundred and thirty years
that had elapsed since their settlement in Egypt,^ even irre-
spective of the fact that, as Abraham had had three hundred
and eighteen "trained servants born in his own house,"^
and therefore afterwards circumcised (Gen. xvii. 13), whom

* The Exodus brought Israel into a new life. Hence, all that was of the
old, and sustained it, must be put away (i Cor. v. 8). To have eaten of
leaven would have been to deny, as it were, this great fact. The feast of
unleavened bread, which followed the Passover-night, lasted seven days,
both as commemorative of the creation of Israel, and because the number
seven is that of the covenant.

^ Ex. xiii. 1-7.

' "About 600,000 on foot" (comp. Numb. i. 46, iii. 39). "On foot,'*
an expression used of an army ; for Israel went out, not as fugitives, but as
an army in triumph.

* Calculations have again and again been made to show the reasonable-
ness of these numbers ; and the question may indeed be considered as
settled. Nor must we forget that a special blessing attached to Israel, in
fulfilment of the promise, Gen. xlvi. 3. ' Gen. xiv. 14.

The March of Israel. 83

he could arm against the invaders of Sodom, so the sons of
Jacob must have brought many with them who were after-
wards incorporated in the nation. With these two milUons
of Israehtes also went up a mixed multitude of varied
descent, drawn in the wake of God's people by the signs
and wonders so lately witnessed — ^just as a mixed crowd still
follows after every great spiritual movement, a source of
hindrance rather than of help to it,^ ever continuing strangers,
and at most only fit to act as " hewers of wood and drawers of
water. "^ But a precious legacy of faith did Israel bear, when
they took with them out of Egypt the bones of Joseph,^ which
all those centuries had waited for the fulfilment of God's
promise. As Calvin aptly writes : "In all those times of
adversity could the people never have forgotten the promised
redemption. For if, in their communings^ the oath which Joseph
had made their fathers swear had not been remembered, Moses
could in no wise have been aware of it."

Such a sight had never been witnessed in the land of Egypt
as when the nation, so delivered^ halted for their first night-
quarters at Siiccoth, or " booths." The locality of this and the
following station, Etham^ cannot be exactly ascertained ; nor
is this the place to discuss such questions. Succoth may have
been fixed upon as the general rendezvous of the people^ wMle
at Etham they had reached "the edge of the wilderness,"
which divides Egypt from Palestine. The straight road would
have brought them shortly into the land of the Philistines, face
to face with a warlike race, against which even Egypt could
often scarcely stand. Of course they would have contested
the advance of Israel. To such test God in His mercy would
not expose a people so unprepared for it, as was Israel at that
time. Accordingly^ they were directed to " turn " southward,
and march to '' Fi-hahiroth, between Migdol and the sea,"
where they were to encamp.

Two events^ as we understand it, marked Etham, the second
stage of their journey. It was apparently here, at the edge of

* Numb. xi. 4. - Deut. xxix. 11. ^ Ex. xiii. 19.

G 2

84 The Exodus.

the wilderness.^ that first Jehovah " went before " His people
" by day in a pillar of cloud, to lead them the way ; and by
night in a pillar of fire, to give them light, to go by day and
night," that is, to enable them at all times to march onward.
In Exodus xiii. 17, 18, we read that "God (Elohim) led the
people," but no^ Jehovah, as it were, took command (ver. 21),'-^
and, by a sensible sign of His Presence, ensured their safety.
This pillar was at the same time one "of fire and of the
cloud" (xiv. 24), "of light" and "of cloud and darkness"
(ver. 20). Ordinarily, by day only the cloud was visible, but
by night the fire, which the cloud had enwrapped, shone out.^
In this cloud Jehovah was visibly present in the "Angel" of
the covenant;* there the glory of Jehovah appeared (xvi. 10;
xl. 34 ; Numb. xvi. 42) ; thence He spoke to Moses and
to Israel; and this was the Shechinah, or visible Presence,
which afterwards rested upon the Most Holy Place. And this
pledge and symbol of His visible Presence appears onCe more
in the description of the last days — only then " upon every
dwelling-place of Mount Zion."^

Secondly, it was probably from Etham, as they turned south-
wards, that tidings were carried to Pharaoh, which made him
hope that Israel had, by this sudden backward movement, " en-
tangled " themselves as in a net, and would fall a ready prey to
his trained army.*^ Perhaps now also, for the first time, he
realised that the people had " fled " (ver. 5) — not merely gone
for a few days to offer sacrifice, as they might have done, close
by Etham, but left entirely and for ever. The sacred text
does not necessarily imply that from Etham to Pi-hahiroth
there was only one day's march. Indeed, opinions as to the
exact locality of each of the stages to the Red Sea^ are still

^ Ex. xiii. 21.

"^ The expression is the more noteworthy, as, both on a monument and
in one of the ancient Egyptian documents, the general is compared to "a
flame in the darkness," "streaming in advance of his soldiers."

' Numb. ix. 15, 16. * Ex. xiv. 19. ' Isa. iv. 5.

^ Ex. xiv. 2-4,

' In the Hebrew it is called " tlie sea of reeds," but in the Greek transla-

Israel overtake^t by Pharaoh's army. 85

divided, though the general route is sufficiently ascertained.
While Israel thus pursued their journey, Pharaoh quickly
gathered his army, the principal strength of which lay in its
" six hundred chosen chariots." Each of these was drawn by
two fiery, trained horses, and contained two warriors, one
bearing the shield and driving, the other fully armed. A most
formidable array it would have been under any circumstances ;
much more so to an untrained multitude, encumbered with
women and children, and dispirited by centuries of slavery to
those very Egyptians, the flower of whose army they now saw
before them.

It must have been as the rays of the setting sun were
glinting upon the war chariots, that the Israelites first descried
the approach of Pharaoh's army. It followed in their track,
and came approaching them from the north. There was no
escape in that direction. Eastward was the sea ; to the west
and south rose mountains. Flight was impossible; defence
seemed madness. Once more the faith of Israel signally
failed, and they broke into murmuring against Moses. But
the Lord was faithful. What now took place was not only to
be the final act of sovereign deliverance by God's arm alone,
nor yet merely to serve ever afterwards as a memorial by
which Israel's faith might be upheld, but also to teach, by the
judgments upon Egypt, that Jehovah was a righteous and holy
Judge.

There are times when even prayer seems unbelief, and only
to go forward in calm assurance is duty. "Wherefore criest
thou unto Me ? Speak unto the children of Israel that they go
forward." Yet this forward movement was to be made only
after Moses had stretched the rod of God over the sea, and the
Angel of the Lord gone behind the host, casting the light of the
pillar upon Israel's path, while, with the darkness of the cloud,
he kept Egypt apart from them. Then blew the " strong east

tion of the Lxx, and in the New Testament, " the Red Sea." The name is
differently derived either from the red coral in its waters, or from Edoniy
which means " red " — as it were, the sea of the red men, or Edomites.

S6 The Exodus.

wind all that night," as never it had swept across those waters
before.^ They divided, and formed on each side a wall,
between which Israel passed dry-shod. When the host of
Egypt reached the seashore, night had probably fallen, and the
Israelites were far advanced on the dry bed of the sea. Their
position would be seen by the fire from the cloud which threw
its light upon the advancing multitude. To follow where they
had dared to go, seemed dictated by mihtary honour, and
victory within easy reach. Yet, read in the light of what was
to follow, it sounds like Divine irony that "the Egyptians
pursued and went in after them in the midst of the sea."
And so the long night passed. The grey morning light was
breaking on the other side of the waters, when a fiercer sun
than that about to rise on the horizon cast its glare upon

* Rev. XV. 2, 3. The following extract from Palmer's Desert of the
Exodtts (vol. i. p. 37) may be interesting : "A strong wind blowing from
the east, at the moment of the setting in of the ebb-tide, might so drive
back the waters that towards the sea they would be some feet higher than
on the shore side. Such a phenomenon is frequently observed in lakes and
inland seas ; and if there were, as there would very probably be, at the head
of the gulf, any inequality in the bed of the sea, or any chain of sand-banks
dividing the upper part of the gulf into two basins, that portion might be
blown dry, and a path very soon left with water on either side. As the
parting of the sea was caused by an east wind, the sudden veering of this
wind to the opposite quarter at the moment of the return tide would bring
the waters back with unusual rapidity. This seems to have been actually
the case, for we find that the waters returned, not with a sudden rush, over-
whelming the Egyptians at once, but gradually, and at first, as we might
expect, saturating the sand, so that * it took off their chariot-wheels that
they drave them heavily,' In the hurricane and darkness of the night this
would naturally cause such a panic and confusion as to seriously retard
them in their passage ; but, in the meantime, the waters were too surely
advancing upon them, and when morning broke ' Israel saw the Egyptians
dead upon the sea-shore,' The verse last quoted seems to show con-
clusively that the wind did veer round to the west, for otherwise, with the
east wind still blowing, the corpses of Pharaoh and his host would have
been driven away from the Israelites, and thrown upon the opposite shore."
Parallel instances are referred to by Dean Stanley {Sinai and Palestine,
p, 34), notably that of the bed of the river Rhone being blown dry by a
strong north-west wind.

Destruction of Pharaoh and his Host. Sy

the Egyptians. "Jehovah looked unto" them "through the
pillar of fire and of the cloud, and troubled the host of the
Egyptians." It was the fire of His Divine Presence, bursting
suddenly through the pillar of the cloud, which threw them
into confusion and panic. The wheels of their chariots
became clogged, the sand beneath them seemed to soften
under the fiery glow, and they drave heavily. With that light
from the fiery cloudy the conviction flashed upon them that
it was Jehovah who fought for Israel and against them. They
essayed immediate flight. But already Moses had, at God's
command, once more stretched his hand over the sea. In
that morning watch, the wind veered round; the waters
returned, and Pharaoh, with the flower of his host, sank,
buried beneath the waves. Thus, in the language of Scripture,
"Jehovah shook ofi"^ the Egyptians in the midst of the sea."^

Incidental confirmations of this grand event are not wanting.
Throughout the Old Testament, it is constantly appealed to,
and forms, so to speak, the foundation on which God rests His
claim upon His people. Local tradition also has preserved
its memory. Nor has anything yet been urged to shake our
faith in the narrative. Although the exact spot of the passage
through the Red Sea is matter of discussion, yet all are agreed
that it must have taken place near Suez, and that the con-
ditions are such as to make it quite possible for the host of
Israel to have safely crossed during that night. Moreover, it
is a curious fact, illustrating the history of Pharaoh's overthrow,
that, according to Egyptian documents, seventeen years elapsed
after the death of Thothmes ii. (whom we regard as the
Pharaoh of this narrative) before any Egyptian expedition
was undertaken into the Peninsula of Sinai, and twenty-two
years before any attempt was made to recover the power over
Syria which Egypt seems to have lost. And thus, also, it was
that Israel could safely pursue their march through the wilder-
ness, which had hitherto been subject to the Egyptians.

But Moses and the children of Israel sang on the other side
» So literally, as in the margin. 2 £,,. xiv. 27.

88 The Exodus.

of the sea a song of thanksgiving and tiiumph, which, repeated
every Sabbath in the Temple/ when the drink-offering of the
festive sacrifice was poured out, reminded Israel that to all
time the kingdom was surrounded by the hostile powers of this
world ; that there must always be a contest between them ; and
that Jehovah would always Himself interpose to destroy His
enemies and to deUver His people. Thus that great event is
really not solitary, nor yet its hymn without an echo. For all
times it has been a prophecy, a comfort, and a song of antici-
pated sure victory to the Church. And so at the last, they who
stand on the "sea of glass mingled with fire," who have "gotten
the victory," and have " the harps of God," " sing the song of
Moses, the servant of God, and the song of the Lamb."

' Tradition informs us that the *' Song of Moses" was sung in sections
(one for each Sabbath) in the Temple, at the close of the Sabbath-morning
service. The Song of Moses consists of three stanzas (Ex. xv. 2-5, 6-10, and
11-18), of which the first two show the power of Jehovah in the destruction
of His enemies, while the third gives thanks for the result, in the calling of
Israel to be the kingdom of God, and their possession of the promised
inheritance.

THE

WANDERINGS IN THE WILDERNESS.

CHAPTER VIII.

^ht MiUitxnzsQ xrf <Shur— ^he ginaitir l^zninsxdn—lU
§czmxy^ nrib '^ZQtiniion — It^ dTapabilities xrf §ttpp-ort-
xxtQ a ^opukiioit — 'Mhz Widis oi ^ctoszsi — ^hr^e^ W^U^'
JEarrh t^ Jttarah— (Slim— 1^0aii tcr the Wiilbzxnzss jof
<Sin — Israel's JtturmuvittQ— ^he £^xxMuiouQ ^xo\)'xsxoxt
at ihz Quails— ^h^ JEanna.

(Exodus xv. 22 ; xvi.)

WITH the song of triumph on the other side the sea, the
first part of the Book of Exodus ends. Israel has now
become a nation. God has made it such by a twofold deliver-
ance. He has, so to speak, '^ created " it for Himself. It only-
remains that this new-bom people of God shall be consecrated
to Him at the mount. And the second part of Exodus describes
their wilderness-journey to Sinai, and their consecration there
unto God. In this also it may serve to us as the pattern of
heavenly things on our passage through the wilderness to the
mount.

As Israel looked in the morning light across the now quiet
sea, into which Jehovah had so lately shaken the pursuers of
His people, their past danger must have seemed to them greater
than ever. Along that defile, the only practicable road, their
enemies had followed them. Assuredly the sea was the only
pathway of safety to them, and in that sea they had been bap-
tized unto Moses, and unto Moses' God. And now, as they
turned towards the wilderness, there seemed to stand before
them, and to extend all along their line of vision, east and north,

90 The Wanderings in the Wilderness.

a low range of bare limestone hills, that bounded the pro-
spect, rising like a wall. Accordingly they called this the wilder-
ness of Shur^ or of " the wall."^ This then was the wilderness,
fresh, free, and undisputed ! But this also was that " great and
terrible wilderness," so full of terror, danger, and difficulty,^
through which they must now pass. Under the shadow of that
mass of rocky peaks, along the dry torrent-beds which intersect
them, through the unbroken stillness of that scenery, of which
grandeur and desolateness are the characteristics, led their way.
A befitting road to such a sanctuary as Sinai ! But what contrast
in all around to the Egypt they had left behind only a few hours !
When we think of the desert through which Israel journeyed,
we must not picture to ourselves a large, flat, sandy tract, wholly
incapable of cultivation. In fact it is in almost every particular
quite the contrary. That tract of land which bears the name of
the Peninsula of Sinai, extends between the Gulf of Suez on the
west, and that of Akaba (or the Persian Gulf) on the east. Its
configuration is heart-shaped, the broader part lying towards
Palestine, the narrower, or apex, stretching southwards into the
sea. It really consists of three distinct portions. The northern,
called the Wilderness of Tih^ or, " of the Wandering," is pebbly,
high table-land, the prevailing colour being that of the grey
limestone. Next comes a broad belt of sandstone and yellow
sand, the only one in the desert of the Exodus. To the south
of it, in the apex of the peninsula, lies the true Sinaitic range.
This portion bears the name of the Tor^ and consists in the
north chiefly of red sandstone, and in the centre of red granite
and green porphyry. The prevailing character of the scenery
is that of an irregular mass of mountains, thrown together in
wild confusion. The highest peak rises to about 9000 feet.
Between these wind what seem, and really are, torrent-beds,
filled, perhaps, for a very short time in winter, but generally
quite dry. These are called Wddies^ and they form the high-
way through the wilderness. Here and there, where either a
hving spring rises, or the torrent has left its marks, or where
* Ex. XV. 22. - Deut. viii. 15 ; xxxii. 10.

Condition of the Wilderness. 91

the hand of man is at work, cultivated patches, fair and fruitful,
are found ; palm-trees spring up, even gardens and fields, and
rich pasture ground. But, generally, the rocky mountain-sides
are bare of all vegetation, and their bright colouring gives the
scenery its peculiar character. The prevailing tints are red and
green; but this is varied by what seems a purple, rose, or
crimson-coloured stream poured down the mountain side, while,
occasionally, the green of the porphyry deepens into black.
Over all this, unbroken silence prevails, so that the voice is
heard in the pure air at extraordinary distances. Besides the
cultivated or fruitful spots already mentioned, and tiny rock-
flowers, and aromatic herbs, the vegetation of the wilderness
consists chiefly of the caper-plant, the hyssop of the Bible,
which springs from the clefts of the rocks and hangs down in
gay festoons ; the " thorn," a species of acacia ; another species
of the same tree, the Shittim-wood of Scripture, of which the
framework of the Tabernacle was made ; the white broom, or
juniper of Scripture ; and the tamarisk, which, at certain seasons
of the year, produces the natural manna. This leads us to say,
that it were a mistake to suppose that the wilderness ofl"ered no
means of support to those who inhabited it. Even now it
sustains a not inconsiderable population, and there is abundant
evidence that, before neglect and ravages had brought it to its
present state, it could, and did, support a very much larger
number of people. There were always Egyptian colonies
engaged in working its large copper, iron, and turquoise mines,
and these settlers would have looked well to its springs and
cultivated spots. Nor could the Israelites, any more than the
modern Bedouin, have had difficulty in supporting, in the desert,
their numerous herds and flocks. These would again supply
them with milk and cheese, and occasionally with meat. We
know from Scripture that, at a later period, the Israelites were
ready to buy food and water from the Edomites,^ and they may
have done so from passing caravans as well. Similarly, we
gather from such passages as Lev. viii. 2, 26, 31 ; ix. 4; x. 12 ;

^ Deut. ii. 6.

92 The Wanderings in tJte Wilderness.

xxiv. 5 ; Numb. vii. 13, and others, that they must have had a
supply of flour, either purchased, or of their own sowing and
reaping, during their prolonged stay in certain localities, just as
the modern Bedouin still cultivate what soil is fit for it.

Such was the wilderness on which Israel now entered.
During the forty years that Moses had tended the flocks of
Jethro, its wddies and peaks, its pastures and rocks must have
become well known to him. Nor could the Israelites them-
selves have been quite ignorant of its character, considering the
constant connection between Egypt and the desert. We are
therefore the more disposed to attach credit to those explorers
who have tried to ascertain what may have been the most
likely route taken by the children of Israel. This has of late
years been made the subject of investigation by scholars
thoroughly qualified for the task. Indeed, a special professional
survey has been made of the Desert of Sinai. ^ The result is,
that most of the stations on the journey of Israel have been
ascertained, while, in reference to the rest, great probability
attaches to the opinion of the explorers.

The first camping-place was, no doubt, the modem Ayii7t
Musa (Wells of Moses), about half an hour from the sea-shore.
Even now the care of the foreign consuls has made this a most
pleasant green and fresh summer retreat. One of the latest
travellers has counted nineteen wells there, and the clumps of
palm-trees afford a delightful shade. There is evidence that,
at the time of Moses, the district was even more carefully culti-
vated than now, and its water-supply better attended to. Nor
is there any doubt as to the next stage in Israel's wilderness-
journey. The accounts of travellers quite agree with the
narrative of the Bible. Three days' journey over pebbly ground
through desert wddies, and at last among bare white and black

' A regular Ordnance Survey has been made, under the direction of
Sir Henry James, R.e,, by Capts, Wilson and Palmer, r.e., four non-
commissioned officers of the Royal Engineers, the Rev. F. W. Holland, and
Messrs. Wyatt and Palmer. The result has been published in a splendid
folio volume, with maps and photographic illustrations, and an excellent
introduction by Canon Williams.

Mar ah and Elim. 93

limestone hills, with nothing to relieve the eye except, in the
distance, the " shur," or wall of rocky mountain which gives its
name to the desert, would bring the weary, dispirited multitude
to the modern Hawwdrah^ the " Marah " of the Bible. Worse
than fatigue and depression now oppressed them, for they began
to suffer from want of water. For three days they had not come
upon any spring, and their own supplies must have been well-
nigh exhausted. When arrived at Hawwarah they found indeed
a pool, but, as the whole soil is impregnated with nitre, the
water was bitter (Marah) and unfit for use. Luther aptly
remarks that, when our provision ceases, our faith is wont to
come to an end. It was so here. The circumstances seemed
indeed hopeless. The spring of Hawwdrah is still considered
the worst on the whole road to Sinai, and no means have ever
been suggested to make its waters drinkable. But God stilled
the murmuring of the people, and met their wants by a mi-
raculous interposition. Moses was shown a tree which he was
to cast into the water, and it became sweet. Whether or not
it was the thorny shrub which grows so profusely at Hawwarah,
is of little importance. The help came directly from heaven,
and the lesson was twofold. " There He made for them a
statute and an ordinance, and there He proved them."^ The
" statute," or principle, and " the ordinance," or right, was this,
that in all seasons of need and seeming impossibility the Lord
would send deliverance straight from above, and that Israel
might expect this during their wilderness-journey. This
" statute " is, for all times, the principle of God's guidance, and
this " ordinance " the right or privilege of our heavenly citizen-
ship. But He also ever " proves " us by this, that the enjoy-
ment of our right and privilege is made to depend upon a
constant exercise of faith.

From Hawwdrah, or Marah, a short march would bring Israel
to a sweet and fertile spot, now known as Wddy Ghara?idel^ the
Elim of Scripture, "where were twelve wells of water, and
threescore and ten palm-trees ; and they encamped there by the

^ Ex. XV. 25.

94 TJie Wandermgs in the Wilderness.

waters." This spot was suitable for a more lengthened en-
campment In point of fact, we find that quite a month passed
before their next stage in the wilderness of Siji} Even now
this valley, watered by a perennial stream, has rich pasturage
for cattle, and many shrubs and trees. Here, and in the
neighbourhood, the flocks and herds would find good sus-
tenance, and the people rest. Leaving Elim, the character of
the scenery changes. Instead of dreary level plains of sand,
as hitherto, we are now entering among the mountains, and
the bright green of the caper-plant forms a striking contrast to
the red sandstone of the rocks. Hitherto the route of Israel
had been simply southward, and in pursuing it, they had suc-
cessively skirted the Tih, and near Ehm a belt of sand. But
now the host was to enter on the Sinaitic range itself From
Numb, xxxiii. lo, v/e know that from Elim their journey first
brought them again to the shore of the " Sea of Weeds." The
road which they would follow would be from Wddy Gharandel
through the Wady Taiyebeh, in a south-westerly direction.
Here the sandstone would again give place to chalk hills and
y rocks. Where the road descends to the sea (at Ras Abu
Zenimeh) it would touch, probably, the most dreary, flat, and
desolate place in the whole wilderness. This spot was the next
camping-ground of the children of Israel after Elim. From the
/ shore of the Red Sea the next halting-place brought them into
' the Wilderness oi Siji itself^ That name applies to the whole
extensive sandy plain, which runs along the shore of the Red
Sea, from the camping-place of Israel to the southern end of
the Sinaitic Peninsula.^ On leaving the Wilderness of Sin,"^ we

^ Ex. xvi. I. ^ Numb, xxxiii. ii.

^ From the Wady Gharandel huo roads lead to Sinai — the so-called
upper and the lower. Each of these has been ably and learnedly repre-
sented as that followed by the Children of Israel. After considerable
research and consideration, we have arrived at the conclusion that the
balance of evidence is decidedly in favour of the lower road, which, accord-
ingly, has been described in the text. This conclusion has also been unani-
mously adopted by the Scientific Ordnance Survey Expedition, which in-
vestigated the question on the spot. It is of importance for the localization
of Rephidim. * Numb, xxxiii. 12-14.

Flight of the Quails and Supply of the Manna. 95

read of two stations, Dophkah and Alush, before the Israelites
reached Rephidiitt. The Wilderness of Sin, the modern El
Markka^ is a dreary, desolate tract, which obtains its name
from a long ridge of white chalk hills. In this inhospitable
desert, the provisions which Israel had brought from Egypt,
and which had now lasted a month, began to fail. Behind
them, just above the range of chalk chffs, they would see, in the
distance, the purple streaks of those granite mountains which
form the proper Sinaitic group. To the west lay the sea, and
across it, in the dim mist, they could just descry the rich and
fertile Egypt, which they had for ever left behind. Once more
their unbelief broke forth. True, it was only against Moses
that their murmurs rose. But in reality their rebellion was
against God. To show this, and thereby "to prove them,
whether they would walk in the law of God or no,"^ that is,
follow Him implicitly, depending upon, and taking such pro-
vision as He sent, and under the conditions that He dispensed
it, God would now miraculously supply their wants. Bread
and meat would be given them, both directly sent from God,
yet both so given that, while unbelief was inexcusable, it should
still be possible. To show the more clearly that these dealings
were from the Lord, they were bidden " come near before
Jehovah," and "behold the glory of Jehovah," as it "appeared
in the cloud. "^ That Presence ought to have prevented their
murmuring, or rather changed it into prayer and praise.
And so it always is, that, before God supplies our wants. He
shows us that His presence had been near, and He reveals His
glory. That Presence is in itself sufficient ; for no good thing
shall be wanting to them that trust in Him.

As evening gathered around the camp, the air became
darkened. An extraordinary flight of quails, such as at that
season of the year passes northward from the warmer regions of
the interior^ was over the camp. It is a not uncommon occur-
rence that, when wearied, these birds droop and settle down for
rest, so as to be easily clubbed with sticks, and even caught by
' Ex. xvi. 4. ^ Ex. xvi. 9, 10.

96 The Wanderings in the Wilderness.

the hand. The miraculous provision chiefly lay in the extraor-
dinary number, the seasonable arrival, and the peculiar circum-
stances under which these quails came. But greater wonder
yet awaited them on the morrow. While passing through the
Wddy Gharandel they might have observed that the tamarisk,
when pricked by a small insect, exuded drops of white, sweet,
honey-like substance, which melted in the sun. This was the
natural mafina (a name perhaps derived from the Egyptian),
which, in certain districts, is found from the middle of May to
about the end of July. But " can God furnish a table in the
wilderness ?" Can He command the clouds from above, and
open the doors of heaven ? Can He rain down manna upon
them to eat ? That would indeed be to give them of the com
of heaven ! Truly, this were angels' food, the provision, direct
from God, "the bread of heaven!"^ The Lord did this, and far
more. As in the evening. He had " caused an east wind to
blow in the heavens ; and by His power He brought in the
south wind; He rained flesh also upon them as dust, and
feathered fowls like as the sand of the sea ;" so, in the morning,
as the dew that had lain rose in white vapour, and was
carried towards the blue sky, there lay on the face of the ground
" a small round thing, as small as the hoar frost." " It was like
coriander seed, white ; and the taste of it was hke wafers made
with honey. "^ The children of Israel said. Manna ! What is
that? It was manna, and yet it was not manna; not the
manna which the wilderness produced, and yet in some respects
like it ; it was the manna from heaven, the bread which God
gave them to eat. Thus it recalls our present condition. We
are in the wilderness, yet not of the wilderness; our provi-
sion is like the wilderness food, yet not the wilderness manna ;
but, above all, it is sent us directly from God.

Such assuredly must have been the lessons which Israel was,
and which we to this day are, called to learn. The very resem-
blance in some points of the natural with the heaven-sent manna
would suggest a truth. But the diff'erence between them was
* Vs. Ixxviii. 19-27 ; cv. 40. - Ex. xvi. 31.

Symbolical mea7iing of the Manna. 97

even greater and more patent than their hkeness. On this point
let there be no mistake. Israel could never have confounded
the heaven-sent with the natural manna. The latter is seen in
but a itw districts of the desert, and only at certain seasons —
at most during three months ; it is produced by the prick of an
insect from the tamarisks ; it is not the least like coriander-seed;
nor yet capable of being baked or seethed (xvi. 23) ; and the
largest produce for a whole year throughout the Peninsula
amounts to about 700 lbs., and would therefore not have
sufficed to feed the host of Israel even for one day, far less at all
seasons and during all the years of their wanderings ! And so, in
measure, it is still with the provision of the believer. Even the
" daily bread " by which our bodies are sustained, and for which
we are taught to pray, is, as it were, manna sent us directly from
heaven. Yet our provision looks to superficial observers as in
so many respects like the ordinary manna, that they are apt to
mistake it, and that even we ourselves in our unbelief too often
forget the daily dispensation of our bread from heaven.

There is yet another point in which the miraculous provision
of the manna, continued to Israel during all the forty years of
their wilderness-journey, resembles what God's provision to us
is intended to be. The manna was so dispensed that " he that
gathered much had nothing over, and he that gathered little had
no lack ; they gathered every man according to his eating. "^
For this marks the true purpose of God's giving to us, which-
ever interpretation of the verse just quoted we adopt : whether
we regard it as describing the final result of each man's Avork,
that, however much or little he had gathered, it was found, when
measured, just sufficient for his want ; or understand it to
mean that all threw into a common store what they had
gathered, and that each took from it what he needed.

By two other provisions did God sanctify His daily gift.

First, the manna came not on the Sabbath. The labour of the

previous day provided sufficient to supply the wants of God's

day of holy rest. But on ordinary days the labour of gathering

* Ex. xvi. 18.

98 The Wanderings in the Wilderness.

the bread which God sent could not be dispensed with. What
was kept from one day to the other only " bred worms and
stank " (xvi. 20). Not so on the Lord's day. This also was to
be to them " a statute " and an " ordinance " of faith, that is,
a principle of God's giving and a rule of their receiving.
Secondly, " an omer full of manna" was to be " laid up before
Jehovah'' in a "golden pot." Along with *' Aaron's rod that
budded, and the tables of the covenant," it was afterwards placed
in the Holiest of all, within the ark of the covenant, over-
shadowed by " the cherubim of glory."^

Thus, alike in the "rain of bread from heaven," in the
ordinance of its ingathering, and in the Sabbath law of its
sanctified use, did God prove Israel — even as He now proves
us : whether we will " walk in His law or no."^

CHAPTER IX.

^ephilitm— '^he ^efent qI ^xa-^X^, anii it0 meatttnct —
%\\t "^mt xjf Jethra aub il0 iagmbcitral ttuport.

(Exodus xvii. xviii.)

A SWEETER spot or grander scenery can scarcely be imagined
than Wddy Feiran. Here we are at last among those
Sinaitic mountains which rise in such fantastic shapes and
exhibit every variety of colouring. Following the windings of
Widy Feiran we come upon a wide fertile plain, seemingly all
shut in by mountains. This is Rephidim, the battle-field where
Israel, fighting under the banner of Jehovah, defeated Amalek.
The place is too full of interest to be cursorily passed by.

Just before reaching the plain of Rephidim, the children of
Israel would, on their way from the Wilderness of Sin, pass a
large, bare, outstanding rock. This, according to an Arab tradi-
tion, to which considerable probability attaches, is the rock
which Moses smote, and whence the living water gushed. Now
' Heb. ix. 4. ' Ex. xvi. 4.

The Valley of Rephidim. 99

we know that, when Israel reached that spot, they must have
been suffering from thirst, since, all the way from the Red Sea,
these three days, they would not have passed a single spring,
while their march in early May through that wilderness must
have been peculiarly hot and weary. Again, it is quite certain
that they must have passed by that rock, and under its shadow
they would in all likelihood halt. For at that moment the valley
of Rephidim before them with its living springs was held by
Amalek, who, as the modern Bedouin would do in similar cir-
cumstances, had gathered around their wells and palms, waiting
to attack the enemy as he came up thirsty, weary, and way-
worn. Here then probably was the scene of the miracle of
the smitten rock. Beyond it lay the battle-field of Rephidim.

Before following the Biblical narrative, let us try to realise
the scene. Advancing from the rock just described upon that
broad plain, we seem to be in a sort of dreamy paradise, shut
in by strange walls of mountains. As the traveller now sees
Rephidim, many a winter's storm has carried desolation into it.
For this is the region of sudden and terrific storms, when the
waters pour in torrents down the granite mountains, and rush
with wild roar into the wadies and valleys, carrying with them
every living thing and all vegetation, uprooting palms, centuries
old, and piling rocks and stones upon each other in desolate
grandeur. At present the stillness of the camp at night is often
broken by the dismal howl of wolves, which in winter prowl about
in search of food, while in the morning the mark of the leopard's
foot shows how near danger had been. But in the days of the
Exodus Rephidim and its neighbourhood were comparatively
inhabited districts. Nothing, however, can have permanently
changed the character of the scenery. Quite at the north of
the valley are groves of palms, tamarisks and other trees, offer-
ing delicious shade. Here the voice of the bulbul is heard, and,
sweeter still to the ear of the traveller, the murmur of living
water. This beautiful tract, one of the most fertile in the
peninsula, extends for miles along the valley. To the north,
some 700 feet above the valley, rises a mountain (Jebel Tdhiineh),

H 2

100 TJie Wanderings in the Wilderness.

which, not without much probabihty, is regarded as that on
which Moses stood when lifting up to heaven his hand that
held the rod, while in the valley itself Israel fought against
Amalek. As a sort of background to it we have a huge basin
of red rock, gneiss and porphyry, above which a tall mountain-
peak towers in the far distance. Turning the other way and
looking south, across the battle-field of Rephidim, the majestic
Mount Serbal, one of the highest in the Peninsula (6690 feet),
bounds the horizon. On either side of it two valleys run down
to Rephidim. Between them is a tumbled and chaotic mass of
mountains of all colours and shapes. Lastly, far away to the
south-east from where Moses stood, he must have descried,
through an opening among the hills, the blue range of Sinai.

But before us lies the highland valley of Rephidim itself, nearly
1 5 00 feet above the level of the sea. Here in close proximity, but
in striking contrast to sweet groves and a running river, are all
around fantastic rocks of gorgeous diversity of colour, white
boulders, walls of most lovely pink porphyry, from the clefts of
which herbs and flowers spring and wind, and grey and red rocks,
over which it literally seems as if a roseate stream had been
poured. In this spot was the fate of those who opposed the king-
dom of God once and, viewing the event prophetically, for ever
decided.

Wonderful things had Israel already experienced. The
enemies of Jehovah had been overthrown in the Red Sea ; the
bitter waters of Marah been healed ; and the wants of God's
people supplied in the wilderness. But a greater miracle than
any of these — at least one more palpable — was now to be
witnessed, for the purpose of showing Israel that no situation
could be so desperate but Jehovah would prove "a very present
help in trouble." That this was intended to be for all time its
meaning to Israel, appears from the name Massah and Mcribah^
temptation and chiding, given to the place, and from the after
references to the event in Deut. vi. 16; Psalms Ixxviii. 15;
cv. 41, and especially in Psalm cxiv. 8. The admonition (Psalm
xcv. 8) " Harden not your heart, as in Meribah, as in the day of

Israel and A malek. i o i

Massah in the wilderness, when your fathers tempted Me, proved
Me, and saw My work," refers, however, primarily, to a later
event, recorded in Numb. xx. 2, and only secondarily to the
occurrence at Rephidim. At the same time it is true, that
when the children of Israel chode with Moses on account of
the want of water in Rephidim, it was virtually a tempting of
Jehovah. Judgment did not, however, at that time follow.
Once more would God prove Himself, and prove the people.
Moses was directed to take with him of the elders of Israel,
and in their view to smite the rock in Horeb (that is, "dry,"
"parched"). God would stand there before him — to help and
to~>indicate His servant. And from the riven side of the
parched rock living waters flowed — an emblem this of the
" spiritual rock which followed them ;" an emblem also to us
—for " that Rock was Christ."^

It was probably while the advanced part of the host were
witnessing the miracle of the Smitten Rock that Amalek fell
upon the worn stragglers, " and smote the hindmost, . . . even
all that were feeble," . . . when Israel was "faint and weary."^
It was a wicked deed, for Israel had in no way provoked the
onset, and the Amalekites were, as descendants of Esau, closely
related to them. But there is yet deeper meaning attaching
both to this contest and to its issue. For, first, we mark the
record of God's solemn determination " utterly to put out the
remembrance of Amalek from under heaven,"^ and His procla-
mation of "war of Jehovah with Amalek from generation to
generation" (xvii. 16). Secondly, we have in connection with
this the prophetic utterance of Balaam to this effect:* "Amalek
the firstfruits of the heathen" (the beginning of the Gentile
power and hostility), " but his latter end even to destruction ;"
while, lastly, we notice the brief but deeply significant terms in
which Scripture accounts for the cowardly attack of Amalek:^
" he feared not God." The contest of Amalek therefore must
have been intended, not so much against Israel simply as a

• I Cor. X. 4. - Deut. xxv. 18. ^ Ex. xvii. 14.

* Numb. xxiv. 20. * Deut, xxv. 18.

102 The Wanderijigs in the Wilder?iess.

nation, as against Israel in their character as the people of God.
It was the first attack of the kingdoms of this world upon the
kingdom of God, and as such it is typical of all that have followed.

Strange as it may sound, in such a contest God will not fight
for Israel as at the Red Sea. Israel itself must also fight,
though success will be granted only so long as their fight is
carried on under the banner of God. That banner was the rod
which Moses had received, and with which he was to perform
miracles. This rod represented the wonder-working Presence
of Jehovah with His people as their Shepherd, their Ruler and
their Leader. Yet in the fight which Israel waged, it was not
enough simply to stretch forth the rod as over the Red Sea.
The hand that holds the rod must also be lifted up to heaven —
the faith that holds the symbol of God's wonder-working
presence must rise up to heaven and draw down in prayer
the pledged blessing, to give success to Israel's efforts, and
ensure victory to their arms. Thus we understand this histor}'.
Moses chose a band to fight against Amalek, placing it under
the command of Hoshea, a prince of the tribe of Ephraim,^
whose name, perhaps, from that very event, was changed to
Joshua (Jehovah is help). In the mean time Moses himself
took his position on the top of a hill, with the rod of God in his
hand. So long as this rod was held up Israel prevailed, but
when Moses' hands drooped from weariness, Amalek prevailed.
Then Aaron and Hur — the latter a descendant of Judah, and
the grandfather of Bezaleel,^ who seems to have held among
the laity a position akin to that of Aaron ^ — stayed the hands
of Moses until the going down of the sun, and the defeat of
Amalek was complete.

This holding up of Moses' hands has been generally regarded
as symbolical of prayer. But if that were all, it would be diffi-
cult to understand why it was absolutely needful to success that

* Numb. xiii. 8, i6 ; Deut. xxxii. 44.

' I Chron. ii. 18, 19. According to Jewish tradition Hur was the
husband of Miriam, Moses' sister. His father Caleb must not be con-
founded with Caleb, the son of Jephunneh.

' Ex. xxiv. 14.

The Visit of Jethro. 103

his hands should be ahvays upheld, so that when they drooped,
merely from bodily weariness, Amalek should have immediately
prevailed. Moreover, it leaves unexplained the holding up of
the rod towards heaven. In view of this difficulty it has been
suggested by a recent commentator, that the object of holding
up the hands was not prayer, but the uphfting of the God-given,
wonder-working rod, as the banner of God, to which, while it
waved above them, and only so long, Israel owed their victory.
With this agrees the name of the memorial-altar, which Moses
reared to perpetuate the QYQnt—/e/wvah-nissi, " the Lord my
banner." But neither does this explanation quite meet the
statements of Scripture. Rather would we combine both the
views mentioned. The rod which Moses held up was the
banner of God — the symbol and the pledge of His presence and
working ; and he held it up, not over Israel, nor yet over their
enemies, but towards heaven in prayer, to bring down that
promised help in their actual contest.^ And so it ever is :
Amalek opposes the advance of Israel ; Israel must fight, but
the victory is God's ; Israel holds the rod of almighty power in
the hand of faith ; but that rod must ever be uplifted toward
heaven in present application for the blessing secured by
covenant-promise.

If the attack of Amalek represented the hostility of the world
to the kingdom of God, the visit ofpjethro, which followed
Israel's victory, equally symbolised the opposite tendency. For
Jethro came not only as Moses' father-in-law to bring back his
wife and children — although even this would have expressed
his faith in Jehovah and the covenant-people, — but he "rejoiced
for all the goodness which Jehovah had done to Israel." More
than that, he professed : " Now I know that Jehovah is greater
than all gods ; for He has shown Himself great in the thing
wherein they (the P^gyptians) had dealt proudly against them

' This view seems implied in Ex. xvii. 15, and explains the otherwise
obscure words of ver. 16, which we literally render : "And Moses built an
altar, and called the name of it Jehovah-nissi ; and he said, For the hand
upon the throne of Jehovah ! War with Amalek from generation to gene-
ration !"

I04 The Wanderings in the Wilderness.

(the Israelites) " (Ex. xviii. 1 1). As this acknowledgment of
God led Jethro to praise Him, so his praise found expression in
burnt-offerings and sacrifices, after which Jethro sat down with
Moses and Aaron, and the elders of Israel, to the sacrificial
meal of fellowship with God and with each other. Thus Jethro
may be regarded as a kind of firstfruits unto God from among
the Gentiles, and his homage as an anticipating fulfilment of
the promise -} " And many people shall go and say, Come ye,
and let us go up to the mountain of Jehovah, to the house of
the God of Jacob ; and He will teach us of His ways, and we
will walk in His paths."

A very marked advantage was immediately derived from the
presence of Jethro. Just as after the conversion of the Gentiles
to Christianity, the accumulated learning and research of
heathenism were to be employed in the service of the Gospel, so
here the experience of Jethro served in the outward arrange-
ments of the people of God. Hitherto every case in dispute
between the people had been brought to Moses himself for de-
cision. The consequence was, that Moses was not only in
danger of " wearing away," from the heaviness of the work, but
the people also (xviii. i8), since the delay which necessarily
ensued was most tedious, and might easily have induced them
to take justice into their own hands. Now the advice which
Jethro ofifered was to teach the people "ordinances and
laws," and to " shew them the way wherein they must walk, and
the work they must do." Whatever questions arose to which
the ordinances, laws, and directions, so taught them, would
find a ready application, were to be considered "small matters,"
which might be left for decision to subordinate judges, whom
Moses should " provide out of all the people — able men, such
as fear God, men of truth, hating covetousness " (ver. 21).
Whatever came not within range of a mere application of these
known laws were "great matters," which Moses should reserve
for his own decision, or rather, '' bring the causes unto God."
And this wise advice was given so modestly, and with such ex-

' Isa. ii. '\.

Mount Sinai, 105

press acknowledgment that it only applied " if God command "
him so, that Moses heard in it the gracious direction of God
Himself. Nor would it be possible to imagine a more beautiful
instance of the help which religion may derive from knowledge
and experience, nor yet a more religious submission of this
world's wisdom to the service and the will of God, than in the
advice which Jethro gave, and the manner in which he expressed
it. From Deut. i. 12-18 we learn that Moses carried out the
plan in the same spirit in which it was proposed. The election
of the judges was made by the people themselves, and their
appointment was guided, as well as their work directed, by the
fear and the love of the Lord.

CHAPTER X.

te the Cxrb^ant — ^he *'%,txi Warie," sni tkm
mjeaning.

(Ex. XIX. -XX. 17.)

IT was the third month after leaving Egypt when the children
of Israel reached that innermost mountain-group from
which the Peninsula of Sinai derives its name. Roughly speak-
ing, the whole district occupies about twice the area of York-
shire.^ Running through it, like roads, pass very many
wadies, all seemingly leading up to the grand central sanctuary,
where God was about to give His law to His people. This
mountain district bears in Scripture two distinct names — Horeb
and Si7iai — the former applying probably to the whole group,
the latter to one special mountain in it. The meaning of the
name Horeb is probably " mountain of the dried-up ground,"
that of Sinai " mountain of the thorn." At present the whole
Sinaitic group is known by the designation of Jebel Mtisa. It

* According to the Ordnance Survey the triangle of the Sinaitic Penin-
sula covers an area of ii,6cx) square miles.

io6 The Wanderings hi the Wilderness.

forms " a huge mountain-block, about two miles in lengthy and
one mile in breadth, with a narrow valley on either side, . . .
and a spacious plain at the north-eastern end."^ That plain,
at present known as Er jRdhah, is computed to be capable of
accommodating a host of two millions. Right before it rises
Jebel Miisa, from which protrudes a lower bluff, visible from
all parts of the plain. This is the modern Has Sufsdfeh
(Willow-head), and was in all probability the Sinai upon which
the Lord came down, and whence He spake " the ten words."
In that case the plain of Er Rahah must have been that on
which Israel stood, and the mound in front, on the ascent to
Rds Sufsafeh, the spot where Moses " separated from the elders
who had accompanied him so far on his ascent."

On leaving Rephidim the main body of the Israelites would
pass through what is known as Wady es Sheikh, a broad open
valley, containing tamarisk trees, and " cut right through the
granitic wall." As a turn in the road is reached, "the journey
lies entirely through granite rocks, the sharp, rugged outlines of
which, as well as the increasing height and sombre grey colour-
ing of the mountains, impart mucli more solemn grandeur to
the scenery." A late eloquent traveller ^ thus describes the
approach to Sinai : " At each successive advance these cliffs
disengaged themselves from the intervening and surrounding
hills, and at last they stood out — I should rather say, the
columnar mass, which they form, stood out — alone against the
sky. On each side the infinite complications of twisted and
jagged mountains fell away from it. On each side the sky
compassed it round, as though it were alone in the wilderness.
And to this great mass we approached through a wide valley,
a long-continued plain, which, enclosed as it was between two
precipitous mountain ranges of black and yellow granite, and
having always at its end this prodigious mountain-block, I
could compare to nothing else than the immense avenue

^ Desert of the Exodits^ vol. i. p. ill. The quotations, when not otherwise
markfed, are all from the same work.

- Dean Stanley, in his Sinai and Paiestijie^ p. 72.

JJce Giving of the Law, 107

through which the approach was made to the great Egyptian
temples."

As we try to reahse the scene presented at the givio^^f, .the
Law, we can well understand how "> all the people that ^^^4n
the camp trembled."^ The vast plain of Er-^lBfahah, and all fche
neighbouring valleys and glens, were dotted with the tents of
Israel. No more suitable camping-ground could have been
found than this, the best-watered neighbourhood in the whole
peninsula, where " running streams are found in no less than
four of the adjacent valleys." The plain itself is nearly 5000
feet above the level of the sea. Right in front, cut off by inter-
vening valleys from all around, rises the Horeb group (.its highest
point 7363 feet), and from it projects into the valley, like
some gigantic altar or pulpit, the lower bluff of Ras Sufsafeh
(6830 feet) — "the nether part of the mount" — that Sinai
from which the voice of the living God was heard. In front
is the mound on which Moses parted from the elders. So
abruptly does Sufsafeh rise, " that you may literally stand under
it and touch its base ;" and so thoroughly is the mountain range
separated from all around, that there could be no difficulty
whatever in " setting bounds unto the people round about," to
prevent their going up into the mount, or even touching the
border of it.^ Behind Sufsafeh, on some peak or cleft, Moses
was forty days with the Lord, and descending into the adjacent
valley, he would — as the members of the Ordnance Survey
record they had frequently experienced — hear the sound from
the camp without being able to see what passed in it.

But now as the people gazed on it, " Mount Sinai was
altogether on smoke. "^ That vast isolated mountain-block —
two miles in length and one in breadth — seemed all on fire !
As " the smoke of a furnace " it rose to heaven, " and the whole
mount quaked greatly," and "there were thunders and light-
nings," and " the voice of the trumpet exceeding loud." But,
more awful than any physical signs, " Jehovah came down upon
Mount Sinai," " and Jehovah called Moses to the top of the

* Ex. xix. 16. ^ Ex. xix. I2. ^ g,^ ^^^ jg^^

io8 The Wa7iderings in the Wilderness,

mount," and God Himself " spake all these words " of the com-
mandments. For three days had the people been preparing by
continued sanctification, and now they stood in readiness at the
foot of, although shut off from, the mountain. But even so,
" when the people saw it, they removed, and stood afar off.
And they said unto Moses, Speak thou with us, and we will
hear : but let not God speak with us, lest we die."^

This outward sanctification of Israel had been preceded by
inward and spiritual preparation. As always, the demand and
the command of God had been preceded by His promise. For
He ever gives what He asks. It is, as St. Augustine beautifully
expresses it, " Give what Thou commandest, and command what
Thou wilt." Arrived at the foot of Mount Sinai, Moses had
gone up to a lower peak, as if to ask the commands of his Lord,
and Jehovah had spoken to him from the top of the mountain.
He was directed, before the people prepared to receive the
Law, to remind them of their gracious deliverance from Egypt,
of the judgments of God's hand, and of the mercy and kindness
which they had received. For as " on eagle's wings " had
Jehovah borne them, God's dealings being compared to the
eagle, who spreads his strong pinions under the young birds
when they take their first flight, lest, weary or faint, they be
dashed on the rocks (comp. Deut. xxxii. ii). Yet all this
mercy — Moses was to tell Israel — was but the pledge of far
richer grace. For now would the Lord enter into covenant
with them. And if Israel obeyed His voice, and kept the
covenant, then, in His own words, "Ye shall be to Me a
precious possession- from among all nations — for Mine is all
the earth. And ye shall be unto Me a kingdom of priests and
a holy nation. "^

The promise thus conveyed was both special and universal ;
and it described alike the character of God's people and their

' Ex. XX. 1 8, 19.

* The word is the same as for "choice treasure" (i Chron. xxix. 3;
Eccles. ii, 8). We have translated the whole verse literally.
' Ex. xix. 5, 6,

*' A Kingdom of Priests and a Holy Nation:' 109

destination. All the earth was God's, not only by right of
creation and possession, but as destined yet to own Him its
Lord. Herein lay a promise of universal blessing to all man-
kind. And with this the mission of Israel was closely bound
up. But while all the earth was the Lord's, Israel was to be
His '^ precious possession from among all nations," His choice
treasure — for this the Hebrew expression implies — or, as St.
PauP and St. Peter 2 explain it, "a pecuhar people." The
manner in which this dignity would appear, is explained by the
terms in which Israel is described as " a kingdom of priests and
a holy nation." The expression " kingdom of priests " means
a kingdom whose citizens are priests, and as such possess royal
dignity and power, or, in the language of St. Peter, " a royal
priesthood." So far as Israel was concerned, the outward and
visible theocracy, which God established among them, was only
the means by which this end was to be obtained, just as their
obser^dng the covenant was the condition of it. But the promise
itself reached far beyond the Old Covenant, and will only be
fulfilled in its completeness when " the Israel of God " — whom
already the Lord Jesus, " the First-begotten of the dead and the
Prince of the kings of the earth," " hath made kings and priests
unto God and His Father " — shall share with Him His glory and
sit with Him on His throne. Thus the final object of the royal
priesthood of Israel were those nations, from among whom God
had chosen His people for a precious possession. Towards
them Israel was to act as priests. For, just as the priest is the
intermediary between God and man, so Israel was to be the
intermediary of the knowledge and salvation of God to all
nations. And this their priesthood was to be the foundation of
their royalty.

A still more solemn description of Israel, and of us who are
called " the Israel of God," is that of " holy nation." As Calvin
rightly observes : " This designation was not due to the piety or
holiness of the people, but because God distinguished them by
peculiar privileges from all others. But this sanctification
» Tit. ii. 14. 2 I Pet. ii. 9. 3 Rg^^ i. 5, 6 ; v. 10.

no The Wanderings in the Wilderness.

implies another, viz., that they who are so distinguished by
God's grace should cultivate holiness, so that in turn they sanc-
tify God." The Hebrew term for "holy" is generally supposed
to mean " separated, set apart." But this is only its secondary
signification, derived from the purpose of that which is holy.
Its primary meaning is to be sple?idid, beautiful, pure, and im-
C07itami7iated. God is holy— as the Absolutely Pure, Resplen-
dent, and Glorious One. Hence this is symbolised by the light.
God dwelleth in light that is unapproachable -^ He is " the
Father of light, with Whom is no variableness, neither shadow
of turning " — light which never can grow dimmer, nor give place
to darkness. 2 Christ is the light that shineth in the darkness
of our world, " the true light which lighteth every man."^ And
Israel was to be a holy people as dwelling in the light, through
its covenant-relationship to God. It was not the selection of
Israel from all other nations that made them holy, but the rela-
tionship to God into which it brought the people. The call of
Israel, their election and selection, were only the mea^is. Holi-
ness itself was to be attained through the covena?it, which pro-
vided forgiveness and sanctification, and in which, by the
discipline of His law and the guidance of His Holy Arm, Israel
was to be led onward and upward. Thus, if God showed the
excellence of His name or His glory in creation,* the way of
His holiness was among Israel.^

This detailed consideration of what Moses was charged to
say, will help us to understand both the preparations for the
covenant, and the solemn manner in which it was inaugurated.
When Moses intimated to the people the gracious purpose of
God, they declared their readiness to obey what God had
spoken. But as the Lord could only enter into covenant with
the people through the mediation of Closes, on account of their
weakness and sinfulness, He spoke in a thick cloud with His
servant before them all, so that they might see and hear, and
for ever afterwards believe. As previously indicated, the out-

» Z Tim. vi. 1 6. - Jas. i. 17. ' John i. 5, 9. * Ps. viii.

' Ps. Ixxvii. 13 ; comp. also Ps. civ. with Ps. ciii.

The *' Ten Words:' in

ward preparations of the people were twofold. First, they
underwent certain purifications, symbolical of inward cleansing.
Secondly, bounds were set round Sinai, so that none might
break through nor touch the mountain.^ Then, on the third
day,2 Moses led forth the men, and placed them "at the
nether part of the mount," " that burned with fire." There God
proclaimed His holy and eternal law amidst portentous signs,
which indicated that He was great and terrible in His holiness,
and a jealous God, though the fire of His wrath and zeal
was enwrapt in a dense cloud.

The revelation of God's will, which Israel heard from Mount
Sinai, is contained in the ten commandments, or, as they are
called in the Hebrew original, " the ten words."^ These were
prefaced by this declaration of what Jehovah was and what He
had done : " I am Jehovah thy God, which have brought thee
out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage."^
This (as Calvin says) " to prepare the souls of the people for
obedience." The " ten words " were afterwards written on two
tables of stone, which were to be kept within the ark of the
covenant, "the mercy-seat" being significantly placed over
them.^ It is not easy to say how they were arranged on these
two tables, but not improbably the first four "words" with "the
Preface " (in ver. i) may have occupied the first, and the other
six commandments the second Table of the Law.^ But we only

^ When we read in Ex. xix. 24, 'Met not the priests and the people break
through," we are to understand hy the former expression not the Aaronic
priesthood, which had not yet been instituted, but those who hitherto dis-
charged priestly functions — probably the heads of houses.

2 According to Jewish tradition this was the day of Pentecost, fifty days
after the Passover.

3 The Decalogue, comp. Ex. xxxiv. 28 ; Deut. iv. 13.
* Ex. XX. 2. ^ Ex. XXV. 16 ; xl. 20.

^ Most likely not the whole of each commandment, but in every case only
the actual direction (such as "Thou shalt not steal ") was graven on the
tables. This would give in the Hebrew, for the first four commandments,
along with the " Preface," seventy-three words, and for the other six com-
mandments thirty-one words. It is well known that the Roman Catholics

112 The Wanderings in the Wilderness.

know for certain, that " the tables were written on both their
sides : on the one side and on the other were they written.
And the tables were the work of God, and the writing was the
writing of God, graven upon the tables."^

Considering more closely these "ten words" "of the cove-
nant," we notice, first, their number : ten^ as that of complete-
ness. Next, we see that the fifth commandment (to honour our
parents) forms a transition from the first to the second table —
the first table detailing our duties towards God ; the second those
towards man. But our duty to our parents is higher than that
towards men generally; indeed, in a certain sense is Divine, just
as the relationship to an earthly father symbolises that to our
Father in heaven. Hence the command is to honour, whereas
our duty to men only requires us to love them. Again, almost
all the commands are put in a negative iorm (" thou shalt not "),
implying that transgression, not obedience, is natural to us.
But "the commandment is exceeding broad," and requires a
corresponding right state of mind. Accordingly we find that
the law of the ten commandments is summed up in this :
"Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and
with all thy soul, and with all thy strength ; and thy neighbour
as thyself" Lastly, the first five " words " have always some
reason or motive attached to them. Not so those of the second

and the Lutheran Church combine the two first commandments into one,
and divide the tenth into two. But for this there is not the shadow ot
ground or authority, either in the Hebrew text or even in Jewish
tradition.

^ Ex. xxxii. 15, 16, When we read that the law was " received by the
ministration of angels " (Acts vii. 53 ; Gal. iii. 19 ; Heb. ii. 2), we are not
to understand by it that God Himself did not speak all these words, but
either to refer it to those "ten thousands" of angels who were His
attendants when He spake on Sinai (Deut. xxxiii. 2 ; Ps. Ixviii. 17) ; or,
more probably, to the difference between the Old and the New Testament
dispensations. In the former, the Second Person of the Blessed Trinity
appeared only in the Angel of the Covenant ; in the latter, He became
incarnate in the Person of Jesus Christ, the God-Man.

Mea7ting of the Ten Conunandme7its. 1 1 3

table, which are mostly put quite generally, to show that such
commands as, not to kill, not to commit adultery, not to steal,
not to bear false witness, are intended to apply to all possible
cases, and not only to friends or fellow-citizens.

Passing from general considerations to particulars, we find that
the ^^ first wonV not only forbids all idolatry in thought, word, and
deed, but enjoins to love, fear, serve, and cleave to the Lord.^
The second word shows the manner in which the Lord will be
served — more particularly, not under any image or by any out-
ward representation. As Calvin remarks, it condemns " all ficti-
tious worship which men have invented according to their own
minds," and not according to the word of God. The third
word forbids the profaning of the name of Jehovah, in which
He has manifested His glory, by using it either for untruth or
in vain words, that is, either in false or idle swearing, in
cursing, in magic, or such like. The fourth word, which implies
a previous knowledge of the Sabbath on the part of Israel,
enjoins personal, domestic, and public rest from all manner of
labour on God's holy day^ which is to be spent in His service
and for His glory. The fifth word directs honour to parents
as (in the language of Luther) "the vicars of God," and hence
implies similar reverence towards all God's representatives,
especially magistrates and rulers. The Second Table progresses
from outward deed (in the sixth, seventh^ and eighth "words")
to speech (ninth commandment), and finally to thought and
desire. The sixths seventh, and eighth words apply equally to
what may injure our own life, chastity, or property, and those
of others. The ninth word should be literally translated :
"Thou shalt not answer against thy neighbour as a false
witness " (or " as a witness of falsehood "). Comparing
this with the statement in Deut. v. 20, where the expres-
sion is " a witness of vanity," we gather that not only all
untrue, but all unfounded statements against our neighbour
arc included in this commandment. Lastly, the tenth word
sounds the inmost depths of our hearts, and forbids all
^ Deut. vi, 5, 13 ; x. 12, 20.

I

114 "^^^^ Wanderings in the Wilderness.

wrong and inordinate desires in reference to anything that is
our neighbour's.^

Such law was never given by man ; never dreamed of in his
highest conceptions. Had man only been able to observe it,
assuredly not only life hereafter but happiness and joy here
would have come with it. As it was, it brought only knowledge
of sin. Yet, for ever blessed be God : " The law was given by
Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ"^

CHAPTER XI.

Cibil «nb §0nal ©ri)inmta0 Qi Israel as tkje JPcjo^tU nf
dob— ^k^ir %t\\^xtsyx& #rliinaure0 in their J^atiortal
^0ptct— ^hc " €ot)enant maii^ hg garrito," anii the
garrif rial JEeal qI ^ttf^inxizz,

(Ex. XX. 18-XXIV. 12.)

THE impression produced upon the people by the pheno-
mena accompanying God's revelation of His law was so
deep, that they entreated that any further Divine communication
might be made through the mediatorship of Moses. As Peter,
when the Divine power of the Lord Jesus suddenly burst upon
him,^ felt that he, a sinful man, could not stand in the presence
of his Lord, so were the children of Israel afraid of death, if
they continued before God. But such feelings of fear have
nothing spiritual in themselves. While Moses acceded to their
request, he was careful to explain that the object of all they
had witnessed had not been the excitement of fear (Ex. xx. 20),
but such searching of heart as might issue, not in slavish
apprehension of outward consequences, but in that true fear of
God, which would lead to the avoidance of sin.

» In Deut. V. 21 two different expressions are used— the *'desire" being
awakened from without by that which is seen to be beautiful j while the
"coveting" springs from within — from the evil inclinations or supposed
requirements of him who covets. ^ John i. 17. ' Luke v. 8.

Ma7iner in which Israel was to worship. 1 1 5

And now Moses stood once more alone in the " thick dark-
ness, where God was." The ordinances then given him must
be regarded as the final preparation for that covenant which
was so soon to be ratified. ^ For, as the people of God, Israel
must not be like the other nations. Alike in substance and in
form, the conditions of their national life, the fundamental prin-
ciples of their state, and the so-called civil rights and ordinances
which were to form the groundwork of society, must be Divine.
To use a figure : Israel was God's own possession. Before
hallowing and formally setting it apart, God marked it out, and
drew the boundary-lines around His property. Such was the
object and the meaning of the ordinances,^ which preceded the
formal conclusion of the covenant, recorded in Exodus xxiv.
Accordingly the principles and " judgments " (xxi. i), or rather
the "rights" and juridical arrangements, on which national
life and civil society in Israel were based, were not only
infinitely superior to anything known or thought of at the
time, but such as to embody the soHd and abiding principles
of national life for all times. And in truth they underlie all
modern legislation, so that the Mosaic ordinances are, and will
remain, the grand model on which civil society is constructed.^

Without entering into details, we note the general arrange-
ment of these ordinances. They were preceded by a general
indication of the majtner in which Israel was to worship God.^
As God had spoken to Israel " from heaven," so they were not
to make any earthly representation of what was heavenly. On
the other hand, as God would " come unto " them — from heaven
to earth, and there hold intercourse with them, the altar which
was to rise from earth towards heaven was to be simply " an
altar of earth " (ver. 24), or if of stones, of such as were in the
condition in which they had been found in the earth. More-
over, as the altar indicated that place on earth where God

* Ex. xxiv. 2 j7x. XX. 22-xxiii.

' Fully to understand the sublime principles of the Mosaic, or rather
the Divine Law, they must be examined in detail. This, of course, is
impossible in this place. ♦ Ex. xx. 22-26.

I 2

Ii6 The Wanderings in the Wilderness.

would appear for the purpose of blessing Israel, it was only to
be reared where God recorded His name, that is, where Ht
appointed it. In other words, their worship was to be regulated
by His manifestation in grace, and not by their own choice or
preferences. For grace lies at the foundation of all praise and
prayer. The sacrifices and worship of Israel were not to procure
grace ; grace had been the originating cause of their worship.
And so it ever is. " We love Him, because He first loved us,"
and the gift of His dear Son to us sinners is free and uncondi
tional on the part of the Father, and makes our return unto Him
possible. And because this grace is free, it becomes man all
the more to serve God with holy reverence, which should show
itself even in outward demeanour (ver. 2 6).

" The judgments " next communicated to Moses determined,
first, the civil and social position of all in Israel relatively to each
other (Ex. xxi. i-xxiii. 12), and then their religious position
relatively to the Lord (xxiii. 13-19)."

The Divine legislation begins, as assuredly none other ever
did, not at the topmost but at the lowest rung of society. It
declares in the first place the personal rights of such individuals
as are in a state of dependence — 77iale (xxi. 2-6) 2cn.di fe^nale slaves
(vers. 7-1 1). This is done not only with a sacred regard for the
rights of the person, but with a delicacy, kindness, and strictness
beyond any code ever framed on this subject. If slavery was
still tolerated, as a thing existent, its real principle, that of
making men chattels and property, was struck at the root, and
the institution became, by its safeguards and provisions, quite
other from what it has been among any nation, whether ancient
or modern.

Then follow "judgments" guarding life (vers. 12-14), with
crimes against which, the maltreatment and the cursing of
parents (vers. 15, 17), and man-stealing (ver. 16), are put on a
level. It is the sanctity of life, in itself, in its origin, and in its
free possession, which is here in question, and the punishment
awarded to such crimes is neither intended as warning nor as
correction, but strictly as punishment, that is, as retribution.

Legislation for Israel as the People of God. 1 17

From the protection of life the law passes to that of the body
against all injuries, whether by man (vers. 18-27) or by beast
(vers. 28-32). The principle here is, so far as possible, compen-
satioji, coupled with punishment in grave offences.

Next, the safety of property is secured. But before entering
upon it, the Divine law, Divine also in this, protects also the
life of a beast. ^ Property is dealt with under various aspects.
First, we have the theft of cattle — the most important to guard
against among an agricultural people — a different kind of pro-
tection being wisely allowed to owners by day and by night
(xxii. 1-4). Then, damage to fields or their produce vs, considered
(vers. 5, 6). After that, loss or damage of what had been
entrusted for safe keeping (vers. 7-15), and along with it loss
of honour (vers. 16, 17) are dealt with.

The statutes which follow (vers. 18-30) are quite different in
character from those which had preceded. This appears even
from the omission of the " z/," by which all the previous ordi-
nances had been introduced. In truth, they do not contem-
plate, as the others, any possible case, but they state and ordain
what must never be allowed to take place. They are beyond
the province of ordinary civil legislation, and concern Israel as
being specially the people of God. As such they express what
Jehovah expects from His own people, bound to Him by cove-
nant. And this, perhaps, is the most wonderful part of the
legislation, regulating and ordering what no civil rule has ever
sought to influence. As before, the series of statutes begins by
interdicting what is contrary to the God-consecrated character of
the nation. Thus, at the outset all magic is exterminated (ver.
18), and with it all unnatural crimes (ver. 19), and idolatrous
practices (ver. 20). In short, as before in worship, so now in life,
heathenism, its powers, its vileness, and its corruptions are swept
aside. On the other hand, in opposition to all national exclu-
siveness, the stranger (though not the strange god) is to be
kindly welcomed (ver. 21); widows and the fatherless are not

» Ex. xxi. 33-36.

Ii8 The Wanderings in the Wilderjtess.

to be " humiliated "^ (vers. 22-24) ; those in temporary need not
to be vexed by usury (vers. 25-27) ; God as the supreme Lawgiver
is not to be reviled, nor yet are those appointed to rule under
Him to be cursed (ver. 28) ; the tribute due to the Lord as
King is to be cheerfully given (vers. 29, 30) ; and the holy dignity
of His people not to be profaned even in their daily habits (ver.
31). Again, nothing that is untrue, unloving, or unjust is to be
said, done, or attempted (xxiii. 1-3), and that not merely in
public dealings, but personal dislike is not to influence conduct.
On the contrary, all loving help is to be given even to an enemy
in time of need (vers. 4, 5) ; the poor and persecuted are not to
be unjustly dealt with ; no bribe is to be taken, " for the gift
maketh open eyes blind, and perverteth the causes of the right-
eous,"^ and the same rule is to apply to the stranger as to Israel
(vers. 6-9). Finally in this connection, the seventh year's and
the seventh day's rest are referred to, not so much in their
religious character as in their bearing upon the poor and the
workers (vers. 10-12).

Passing from the statutes fixing the civil and social position
of all in Israel to their religions position relatively to Jehovah,^
we have first of all an injunction of the three great annual feasts.
Although strictly religious festivals, they are here viewed,
primarily, not in their symbolical and typical meaning (which is
universal and eternal), but in theirnational bearing : the Paschal
feast as that of Israel's deliverance from Egypt, the feast of
weeks as that "of harvest, the firstfruit of thy labours," and
the feast of tabernacles as that of final " ingathering " (vers.
14-17). Of the three ordinances which now follow (vers. 18-19),
the first refers to the Paschal sacrifice (comp. Exodus xii. 15,
20; xiii. 7 ; xxxiv. 25), and the second to the feast of firstfruits
or of weeks. From this it would follow, that the prohibition
to "seethe a kid in its mother's milk" (ver. 19) must, at least
primarily, have borne some reference to the festivities of the

^ This, not "afflicted," as in the Authorised Version, is the right transla-
tion, the command extending beyond oppression to all unkind treatment.
' So verse 8 literally. ' Ex. xxiii. 13-19.

The one Great Sacrifice. 1 19

week of tabernacles ; perhaps, as the learned Rabbinical com-
mentator Abarbanel suggests, because some such practices were
connected with heathen, idolatrous rites at the time of the
ingathering of fruits.^

The '^judgments" which the Lord enjoins upon His people
are appropriately followed by promises (xxiii. 20-33), i^ which,
as their King and Lord, He undertakes their guidance and pro-
tection, and their possession of the land He had assigned to
them. First and foremost, assurance is given them of the per-
sonal presence of Jehovah in that Angel, in Whom is the Name
of the Lord (ver. 20). This was no common angel, however
exalted, but a manifestation of Jehovah Himself, prefigurative
of, and preparator}^ to His manifestation in the flesh in the Per-
son of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. For all that is here
said of Him is attributed to the Lord Himself in Exodus xiii.
21 ; while in Exodus xxxiii. 14, 15, He is expressly designated
as " the Face " of Jehovah (" My Face " — in the Authorised
Version " My presence "). Accordingly, all obedience is to be
shown to His guidance, and every contact with idolatry and
idolaters avoided. In that case the Lord would fulfil every
good and gracious promise to His people, and cause them to
possess the land in all its extent.

Such were the terms of the covenant which Jehovah made
with Israel in their natio7ial capacity. When the people had
ratified them by acceptance,^ Moses wrote all down in what
was called " the book of the covenant " (xxiv. 7). And now the
covenant itself was to be inaugurated by sacrifice, the sprinkling

* From our ignorance of the circumstances, this is perhaps one of the
most difficult prohibitions to understand. The learned reader will find
every opinion on the subject discussed in Bocharti Hierozoicon, vol. i. pp.
634, 635. It is well known that the modern Jews understand it as implying
that nothing made of milk is to be cooked or eaten along with any kind
of meat, even knives and dishes being changed, and most punctilious precau-
tions taken against any possible intermixture of the two. Most commenta-
tors find the reason of the prohibition in the cruelty of seething a kid in its
mother's milk. But the meaning must lie deeper,

* Ex. xxiv. 3.

I20 The Wanderings in the Wilderness,

of blood, and the sacrificial meal. This transaction was the most
important in the wliole history of Israel. By this one sacrifice,
never renewed, Israel was formally set apart as the people of
God ; and it lay at the foundation of all the sacrificial worship
which followed. Only after it did God institute the Tabernacle,
the priesthood, and all its services. Thus this one sacrifice
prefigured the one sacrifice of our Lord Jesus Christ for His
Church, w^hich is the ground of our access to God and the foun-
dation of all our worship and service. Most significantly, an
altar was now built at the foot of Mount Sinai, and surrounded
by twelve pillars " according to the twelve tribes of Israel."
Ministering youths — for as yet there was no priesthood — offered
the burnt, and sacrificed the peace offerings unto Jehovah.
Half of the blood of the sacrifices was put into basins, with the
other half the altar was sprinkled, thus making reconciliation
with God. Then the terms of the covenant were once more
read in the hearing of all, and the other half of the blood, by
which reconcihation had been made, sprinkled on the people
with these words : " Behold the blood of the covenant which
Jehovah hath made with you upon all these words (or
terms). "^

As a nation Israel was now reconciled and set apart unto
God — both having been accomplished by the " blood of sprink-
ling." Thereby they became prepared for that fellowship with
Him which was symbolised in the sacrificial meal that followed.^
There God, in pledge of His favour, fed His people upon the
sacrifices which He had accepted. The sacrificial meal meant
the fellowship of acceptance ; its joy was that of the conscious-
ness of this blessed fact. And now Moses and Aaron, and his
two sons (the future priests), along with seventy of the elders
' * Further details are furnished in Heb. ix. 19-22, where also transac-
tions differing in point of time are grouped together, as all forming part of
this dedication of the first Covenant by blood. That this is the meaning of
the passage appears from Heb. ix. 22. The sprinkling of the book and the
people, as afterwards of the Tabernacle and its vessels, was made in the
manner described in vet. 19.

2 Ex. xxiv. 9-1 1.

Dangers in Seasons of Special Privileges. 121

of Israel, went up into the mount, " and did eat and drink " at
that sacrificial meal, in the seen presence of the God of Israel —
not indeed under any outward form,^ but with heaven's own
brightness underneath the Shechinah. Thus " to see God, and
to eat and drink," was a foretaste and a pledge of the perfect
blessedness in beholding Him hereafter. It was also a symbol
and a type of what shall be reaUsed when, as the Alleluia of the
" great multitude " proclaims the reign of the " Lord God omni-
potent," the gladsome, joyous bride of the Lamb now made
ready for the marriage, and adorned with bridal garments, hears
the welcome sound summoning her to '^ the marriage supper
of the Lamb." 2

CHAPTER XH.

^he |3niti^rit ^cm mt th^ JRoitntitin— ^he tabernacle,
the Jpriesthonb, z\\ts the (Serbire^ in their arrangement
anJ) tg^jieal meaning — ^he §in qI the ^dben Calf—
^he iiijine Jxtiigment— iihe J3lea 0^ Jt^^es— ©oil's
riracion0 tegiheness— ^he "Vision ai the %\qx^ ai the
$ari) to^nehsatei) ter JEoses.

(Ex. XXIV. 12. -XXXIII.)

NEVER assuredly have we stronger proof of the Divine
origin of what we call grace, and of the weakness and
unprofitableness of human nature, than in the reaction which
so often follows seasons of religious privilege. Readers of the
New Testament will recall many instances of this in the
Gospel-history, and will remember how our Lord, ever and
again, at such times took His disciples aside into some desert
place for quietness and prayer. But perhaps the saddest
instance of how near the great enemy lingers to our seasons of
spiritual enjoyment, and how great our danger of giddiness,
when standing on such heights, is furnished by the history of
Israel, immediately after the solemn covenant had been ratified.
» Deut. iv. 12, 15. 2 Rev. xix. 6-9.

122 The Wanderings in the Wilderness.

Now that God had set apart His reconciled people unto
Himself, it was necessary to have some definite place where
He would meet with, and dwell among them, as also to appoint
the means by which they should approach Him, and the
manner in which He would manifest Himself to them. To
reveal all this, as well as to give those " tables of stone," on
which the commandments were graven, God now called Moses
once more "up into the mount." Accompanied by "Joshua,
his minister," he obeyed the Divine behest, leaving the rule
of the people to Aaron and Hur. For six days he had to wait,
while " the glory of Jehovah abode upon the mount." On the
seventh, Moses was summoned within the bright cloud, which,
to the children of Israel beneath, seemed "like a devouring
fire " — Joshua probably remaining near, but not actually with
him. " Forty days and forty nights " " Moses was in the
mount," without either eating bread or drinking water. ^ The
new revelation which he now received concerned the Taber-
nacle which was to be erected, the priesthood which was to
serve in it, and the services which were to be celebrated.
Nay, it extended to every detail of furniture, dress, and
observance. And for what was needful for this service, the
free-will offerings of Israel were to be invited.^

We have it upon the highest authority, that, not only in its
grand outlines, but in all minutest details, everything was to be
made " after the pattern " which God showed to Moses on the
mount.^ And so we also read in Acts vil 44, and Hebrews
viii. 5 ; ix. 23, teaching us, that Moses was shown by God an
actual pattern or model of all that he was to make in and for the
sanctuary. This can convey only one meaning. It taught far
more than the general truth, that only that approach to God
is lawful or acceptable which He has indicated. For, God
showed Moses every detail to indicate that every detail had its
special meaning, and hence could not be altered in any, even
the minutest, particular, without destroying that meaning, and
losing that significance which alone made it of importance.
* Deut. ix. 9. - Ex. xxv. 1-8. ' Ex. xxv. 9.

Symbolical and typical meaning of the Tabernacle. 123

Nothing here was intended as a mere ornament or ceremony;
all was sytnbol and type. As symbol, it indicated a present
truth; as type, it pointed forward (a prophecy by deed) to
future spiritual realities, while, at the same time, it already
conveyed to the worshipper the firstfruits, and the earnest
of their final accomplishment in "the fulness of time." We
repeat, everything here had a spiritual meaning — the material
of which the ark, the dresses of the priesthood, and all else
was made; colours, measurements, numbers, vessels, dresses,
services, and the priesthood itself — and all proclaimed the
same spiritual truth, and pointed forward to the same spiritual
reality, viz., God in Christ in the midst of His Church. The
Tabernacle was ^'the tent of meeting " (Ohel Mocd) where God
held intercourse with His people, and whence He dispensed
blessing unto them. The priesthood, culminating in the high-
priest, was the God-appointed mediatorial agency through
which God was approached and by which He bestowed His
gifts ; the sacrifices were the means of such approach to God,
and either intended to restore fellowship with God when it
had been dimmed or interrupted, or else to express and
manifest that fellowship. But alike the priesthood, the sacri-
fices, and the altar pointed to the Person and the work of the
Lord Jesus Christ. So far as the Tabernacle itself was con-
cerned, the court with the altar of burnt-offering was the place
by which Israel approached God ; the Holy Place that in which
they held communion with God; and the Most Holy Place
that in which the Lord Himself visibly dwelt among them in
the Shechinah, as the covenant-God, His Presence resting on
the mercy-seat which covered the Ark.

It is most instructive to mark the order in which the various
ordinances about the Tabernacle and its furniture were given
to Moses. First, we have the directions about the Ark^ as the
most holy thing in the Most Holy Place ;^ then, similarly,
those about the table of shewbread and the golden candlestick
(xxv. 23-40), not only as belonging to the furniture of the Holy
* Ex. XXV. 10-22.

124 ^^^^ Wanderings in the Wilderness.

Place, but because spiritually the truths which they symbolized
— life and light in the Lord — were the outcome of God's
Presence between the cherubim. After that, the dwelUng
itself is described, and the position in it of Ark, table, and
candlestick.^ Then only comes the altar of hurnt-offcr'mg, with
the court that was to surround the sanctuary (xxvii. 1-19).
We now enter, as it were, upon a different section, that of
mifiistry. Here directions are first given about the burning of
the lamps on the seven-branched candlestick (xxvii. 20, 21);
after which we have the institution of, and all connected with,
the priesthood? The last, because the highest, point in the
ministry is that about the altar of incense and its service
(xxx. i-io). This symbolized prayer^ and hence could only
come in after the institution of the mediatorial priesthood.
Thus far it will be noticed, that the arrangement is always /r^>w
7i>ithin outwards — from the Most Holy Place to the court of
the worshippers, symbolizing once more that all proceeds from
Him Who is the God of grace, Who, as already quoted in the
language of St. Augustine, "gives what He commands,"^ and
that the highest of all service, to which everything else is
subservient, or rather to which it stands related as the means
towards the end, is that of fellowship in prayer — the worshipful
beholding of God.

These directions are followed by some others strictly con-
nected with the character of Israel as the people of God.
Israel is His firstborn among the nations,* and, as such, must
be redeemed, like the firstborn son of a family,^ to indicate,
on the one hand, that the people are really His own pro-
perty, and that the life entrusted to them belongeth to Him ;
and, on the other hand, to express that, in the firstborn, all the

* Ex. xxvi. * Ex. xxviii.; xxix.

^ "Da quod jubes, et jube quod vis" — Give what Thou commandest,
and command what Thou wilt ; a principle, we cannot too often repeat,
applicable throughout the economy of grace, where all originates with
God. * Ex. iv. 22, 23.

* Ex. xxii. 29 ; xxxiv. 20 ; Numb. iii. I a, 13, 16.

The Sill of the Golden Calf. 125

family is hallowed to God.^ This was the import of the
'•'' atoneme?it 7?io?tey.'"^ But even so, each approach to Him
needed special washing — hence the laver (xx.x. 17-21). Again,
within Israel, the priests were to be the sacred representatives
of the people. As such, they, and all connected with their
service, must be anointed with a peculiar oil, symbolical of the
Holy Spirit, all counterfeit of which was to be visited with such
punishment as reminds us of that following upon the sin
against the Holy Ghost (vers. 22-33). Lastly, the material
for the highest symbolical service, that of incensing^ is described
(vers. 34-38)- The whole section closes by designating the
persons whom the Lord had raised up for doing all the work
connected with the preparation of His Sanctuary.^

The institutions thus made were, in reality, the outcome
and the consequences of the covenant which the Lord had
made with Israel. As "<2 sigti''' of this covenant between
Jehovah and the children of Israel,* God now ordered anew
the observance of the Sabbath (xxxi. 12-17) — its twofold pro-
vision of rest and of sanctification (ver. 15) being expressive of
the civil and the religious aspects of that covenant, and of
their marvellous combination. Thus furnished with all needful
directions, Moses finally received, at the Hand of the Lord,
the "two tables of testimony," "written with the finger of
God" (ver. 18).

While these sacred transactions were taking place on the
mount, a far different scene was enacted below in the camp of
Israel. Without attempting the foolish and wrongful task of
palliating the sin of making the Golden Calf,^ it is right that
the matter should be placed in its true light. The prolonged
absence of Moses had awakened peculiar fears in the people.
They had seen him pass more than a month ago into the
luminous cloud that covered the mount. "And the sight of
the glory of Jehovah was like a devouring fire on the top of
the mount in the eyes of the children of Israel."^ What more

1 Rom. xi. 16. * Ex. xxx. n-i6. ^ Ex. xxxi. i ii.

* Ex. xxxi. 1 7. " Ex. xxxii. 1-6. « Ex. xxiv. 1 7.

126 The Wanderings m the Wilderness.

natural than for those who waited, week after week, in un-
explained solitude, within sight of this fire, to imagine that
Moses had been devoured by it ? Their leader was gone, and
the visible symbol of Jehovah was high up on the mountain
top, like " a devouring fire." They must have another leader ;
that would be Aaron. But they must also have another symbol
of the Divine Presence. One only occurred to their carnal
minds, besides that which had hitherto preceded them. It was
the Egyptian Apis, who, under the form of a calf, represented
the powers of nature. To his worship they had always been
accustomed; indeed, its principal seat was the immediate
neighbourhood of the district in Egypt where, for centuries,
they and their fathers had been settled. Probably, this also
was the form under which many of them had, in former days,
tried, in a perverted manner, to serve their ancestral God,
combining the traditions of the patriarchs with the corruptions
around them (compare Joshua xxiv. 14; Ezekiel xx. 8; xxiii.
3, 8). It is quite evident that Israel did not mean to forsake
Jehovah, but only to serve Him under the symbol of Apis.
This appears from the statement of the people themselves on
seeing the Golden Calf i^ "This is thy God,"^ and from the
proclamation of Aaron (xxxii. 5) : " To-morrow is a feast to
Jehovah." Their great sin consisted in not reaUzing the Pre-
sence of an unseen God, while the fears of their unbelief led
them back to their former idolatrous practices, unmindful that
this involved a breach of the second of those commandments so
lately proclaimed in their hearing, and of the whole covenant
which had so solemnly been ratified. Some expositors have
sought to extenuate the guilt of Aaron by supposing that, in
asking for their golden ornaments to make "the calf/' he had
hoped to enlist their vanity and covetousness, and so to turn
them from their sinful purpose. The text, however, affords no
warrant for this hypothesis. It is true that Aaron was, at the

* Ex. xxxii. 4.

' Both here and in ver. i the rendering should b'e in the singular
("God"), and not in the//«ra/ (*' Gods "), as in the Authorised Version.

TJie Pleading of Moses for Israel 127

time, not yet in the priesthood, and also that his proclamation
of " a feast to Jehovah " may have been intended to bring it
out distinctly, that the name of Jehovah was still, as before,
acknowledged by Israel. But his culpable weakness — to say
the least of it — only adds to his share in the people's sin.
Indeed, this appears from Aaron's later confession to Moses,^
than which nothing more humiliating is recorded, even through-
out this sad story. Perhaps, however, it was well that, before
his appointment to the priesthood, Aaron, and all after him,
should have had this evidence of natural unfitness and un-
worthiness, that so it might appear more clearly that the cha-
racter of all was typical, and in no way connected with the
worthiness of Aaron or of his house.

While Israel indulged in the camp in the usual licentious
dances and orgies which accompanied such heathen festivals,
yet another trial awaited Moses. It had been God Himself
Who informed Moses of the " quick " apostasy of His people
(xxxii. 7, 8), accompanying the announcement by these words :
"Now therefore let Me alone, that My wrath may wax hot
against them, and that I may consume them : and I will make of
thee a great nation " (ver. 10). One of the fathers has already
noticed, that the Divine words, " Now therefore let Me alone,"
seemed to imply a call to Moses to exercise his office as
intercessor for his people. Moreover, it has also been re-
marked, that the offer to make of Moses a nation even greater
than Israel, 2 was, in a sense, a real temptation, or rather a
trial of Moses' singleness of purpose and faithfulness to his
mission. We know how entirely Moses stood this trial, and
how earnestly, perseveringly, and successfully he pleaded for
Israel with .the Lord (vers. 11-14). But one point has not
been sufficiently noticed by commentators. When, in announc-
ing the apostasy of Israel, God spake of them not as His own
but as Moses' people — ^" thy people, whom thou broughtest out
of the land of Egypt" (ver. 7) — He at the same time furnished
Moses with the right plea in his intercession, and also indi-

* Ex. xxxii. 21-24. ' Deut. ix. 14.

128 TJie Wanderings in the Wilderness.

cated the need of that severe punishment which was afterwards
executed, lest Moses might, by weak indulgence, be involved
in complicity with Israel's sin. The latter point is easily under-
stood. As for the other, we see how Moses, in his intercession,
pleaded the argument with which God had furnished him.
Most earnestly did -he insist that Israel was God^s people, since
their deliverance from Egypt had been wholly God-wrought.
Three special arguments did he use with God, and these three
may to all time serve as models in our pleading for forgiveness
and restoration after weaknesses and falls. These arguments
were : firsts that Israel was God's property, and that His past
dealings had proved this (ver. 1 1) ; secondly, that God's own
glory was involved in the deliverance of Israel in the face of
the enemy (ver. 12); di\i(\, thirdly, that God's gracious promises
were pledged for their salvation (ver. 13). And such pleas God
never refuses to accept (ver. 14).

But, although informed of the state of matters in the camp
of Israel, Moses could have been scarcely prepared for the
sight which presented itself, when, on suddenly turning an
eminence,^ the riotous multitude, in its licentious merriment,
appeared full in view. The contrast was too great, and as
*' Moses' wrath waxed hot, he cast the tables out of his hands,
and brake them beneath the mount" (ver. 19). It is not
necessary to suppose that what follows in the sacred text is
related in the strict order of time. Suffice it, that, after a short
but stem reproof to Aaron, Moses took his station "in the gate
of the camp," summoning to him those who were " on the side
of Jehovah." All the sons of Levi obeyed, and were directed
to go through the camp and " slay every man his brother, and
every man his companion, and every man his neighbour"
(ver. 27). On that terrible day no less than 3,000 men fell

* "Often in descending this " (the so-called *' Hill of the Golden Calf,"
close by the spot whence the Law was given), " while the precipitous sides
of the ravine hid the tents from my gaze, have I heard the sound of voices
from below, and thought how Joshua had said unto Moses as he came down
from the mount, 'There is a noise of war in the camp.'" — Mr. Palmer in
7'he Desert oj the Exodus^ vol. i. p. 115.

The slaughter of the three thousand. 1 29

under the sword of Levi. As for the Golden Calf, its wooden
framework was burnt in the fire and its gold covering ground
to powder, and strewed upon the brook which descended
from Sinai. ^ Of this Israel had to drink, in symbol that each
one must receive and bear the fruits of his sin, just as, later on,
the woman suspected of adultery was ordered to drink the
water into which the writing of the curses upon her sin had
been washed. ^

There is one point here which requires more particular
inquiry than it has yet received. As commonly understood, the
slaughter of these 3,000 stands out as an unexplained fact.
Why just these 3,000? Did they fall simply because they
happened to stand by nearest, on the principle, as has been
suggested, of decimating an offending host j and why did no
one come to their aid? Such indiscriminate punishment
seems scarcely in accordance with the Divine dealings. But
the text, as it appears to us, furnishes hints for the right
explanation. When Moses stood in the camp of Israel and
made proclamation for those who were on Jehovah's side, we
read that "he saw that the people were naked" (ver. 25), or
\x\ix€\XiQ^y licentious (comp. ver. 6; i Cor. x. 7, 8). In short,
there stood before him a number of men, fresh from their
orgies, in a state of licentious attire, whom even his appearance
and words had not yet sobered into quietness, shame, and
repentance. These, as we understand it, still thronged the
open roadway of the camp, which so lately had resounded
with their voices ; these were met by the avenging Levites, as,
sword in hand, they passed from gate to gate, like the de-
stroying angel through Egypt on the Paschal night ; and
these were the 3,000 which fell on that day, while the vast
multitude had retired to the quietness of their tents in tardy
repentance and fear, in view of him whose presence among
them betokened the nearness of that holy and jealous God,
Whose terrible judgments they had so much cause to dread.

* Deut. ix. 21. The learned reader will find every possible suggestion in
Bocharti Hieroz.^ vol. i. pp. 349, etc. "^ Numb. v. 24.

K

130 The Wandermgs in the Wilderness.

Thus ended the day of Moses' return among his people.
On the morrow he gathered them to speak, not in anger but in
sorrow, of their great sin. Then returning from them to the
Lord, he entreated forgiveness for his brethren, with an intensity
and self-denial of love (vers. 31, 32), unequalled by that of any
man except St. Paul.^ Thus far he prevailed, that the people
were not to be destroyed, nor the covenant to cease ; but God
would not personally go in the midst of a people so incapable
of bearing His holy Presence ; He would send a created angel
to be henceforth their leader. And still would this sin weight
the scale in the day of visitation, which the further rebellion
of this people would only too surely bring. The first words
of the final sentence, that their carcases were to fall in the
wilderness,^ were, so to speak, already uttered in this warning
of the Lord on the morrow of the slaughter of the 3,000 :
*' Nevertheless in the day when I visit I will visit their sin
upon them." " Thus," in the language of Scripture (ver. 35),
''Jehovah smote the people, because they made the calf,
which Aaron made."^

That the Lord would not go personally with Israel because
of their stiffneckedness, was, indeed, felt to be "evil tidings."*
The account of the people's repentance and of God's gracious
forgiveness^ forms one of the most precious portions of this
histor)'. The first manifestation of their godly sorrow was the
putting away of their " ornaments," not only temporarily but
permanently. Thus we read : " The children of Israel stripped
themselves of their ornaments from the mount Horeb onward "
(xxxiii. 6).® Israel was, so to speak, in permanent mourning, ever
after its great national sin. Next, as the Lord would not per-

* Rom. ix. 3. "It is not easy," writes Bengel, "to estimate the love of
a Moses or a Paul. Our small measure of capacity can scarcely take it in,
just as an infant cannot realise the courage of a hero."

* Numb. xiv. 26.

* The text does not necessarily imply (as the Authorised Version would
naturally suggest) that any further special " plagues " were at that time sent
upon the people. * Ex. xxxiii. 4.

* Xix. xxxiiL • So literally.

God^s Dealings with Israel. 131

sonally be in the midst of Israel, Moses removed the tent — pro-
bably his own — outside the camp, that there he might receive
the Divine communications, when "the cloudy pillar descended,"
" and Jehovah talked with Moses." Moses called this " the tent
of meeting " (rendered in the Authorised Version " the taber-
nacle of the congregation :" ver. 7). It is scarcely necessary
to say, that this was not "the Tabernacle" (as the Authorised
Version might lead one to infer), since the latter was not yet
constructed. To this " tent of meeting " all who were of the
true Israel, and who regarded Jehovah not merely as their
national God, but owned Him personally and felt the need of
Him, were wont to go out. This must not be looked upon
as either a protest or an act of separation on their part, but as
evidence of true repentance and of their desire to meet with
God, who no longer was in the camp of Israel. Moreover, all
the people, when they saw the cloudy pillar descend to Moses,
" rose up and worshipped." Altogether, this was perhaps the
period of greatest heart-softening during Israel's wanderings
in the wilderness.

And God graciously had respect to it. He had already assured
Moses that he stood in special relationship to Him (" I know
thee by name "), and that his prayer for Israel had been heard
(" thou hast also found grace in My sight "). But as yet the
former sentence stood, to the effect that an angel, not Jehovah
Himself, was to be Israel's future guide. Under these circum-
stances Moses now entreated Jehovah to show him His way,
that is. His present purpose in regard to Israel, adding, that if
God would bring them into the Land of Promise, He would
" consider that this is Thy people," and hence He their God
and King. This plea also prevailed, and the Lord once more
promised that His own presence would go with them, and that
He Himself would give them the rest of Canaan (ver. 14 ; comp.
Deut. iii. 20; Heb. iv. 8). And Moses gave thanks by further
prayer, even more earnest than before, for the blessing now
again vouchsafed (vers. 15, 16).

But one thing had become painfully evident to Moses by

K 2

132 The Wanderings in the Wilderness.

what had happened. However faithful in his Master's house,^
he was but a servant ; and a servant knoweth not the will of
his master. The threat of destruction if Jehovah remained
among Israel, and the alternative of sending with them an
angel, must have cast a gloom over his future mediatorship.
It was, indeed, only that of a servant, however highly favoured,
not of a son. 2 Oh, that he could quite understand the Being
and character of the God of Israel — see, not His likeness,
but His glory !^ Then would all become clear, and, with fuller
light, joyous assurance fill his heart. That such was the real
meaning of Moses' prayer, "Show me Thy glory" (ver. 18),
appears from the mode in which the Lord answered it. "And
He said, I will make all My goodness pass before thee, and I
will proclaim the Name of Jehovah before thee." Then was
Moses taught, that the deepest mystery of Divine grace lay not
in God's fiational, but in His individjial dealings, in sovereign
mercy : " And I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious,
and will show mercy on whom I will show mercy " (ver. 1 9).
Yet no man could see the face — the full outshining of Jehovah.
Neither flesh nor spirit, so long as it dwelt in the flesh, could
bear such glory. While that glory passed by, God would hold
Moses in a clift of the rock, perhaps in the same in which a
similar vision was afterwards granted to Elijah,* and there He
would support, or "cover'* him with His hand. Only " the
back parts " — the after-glory, the luminous reflection of what
Jehovah really was — could Moses bear to see. But what
Moses witnessed, hid in the clift of the rock, and Elijah, the
representative of the prophets, saw more clearly, hiding his
face in his mantle, while he worshipped, appears fully revealed
to us in the Face of Jesus Christ, in Whom "the whole fulness
of the Godhead dwelleth bodily."

» Heb. iii. 5. ' Heb. iii. 5, 6.

» Lx. xxxiii. 18. ■• I Kings xix. 9.

133

CHAPTER XIII.

£^ost0 a gccanl) '^im^ mx the Jltoxtnt— ©it his r^tttrn
his Jfiire shineth— ^he rearing oi iht ^nhzmach—^is^
^ouQZCxniion Jbg the sent J3^^sx«-ce ^f Jehxjbah.

(Ex. XXXIV.-XL.)

THE covenant relationship between God and Israel having
been happily restored, Moses was directed to bring into
the mount other two tables — this time of his own preparing —
instead of those which he had broken, that God might once
more write down the "ten words."^ Again he passed forty days
and forty nights on Sinai without either eating or drinking (xxxiv.
28). The communications which he received were preceded
by that glorious vision of Jehovah's brightness, which had been
promised to him. What he satu is nowhere told us ; only what
he /leard, when Jehovah " proclaimed " before him what Luther
aptly designates as " the sermon about the name of God." It
unfolded His inmost being, as that of love unspeakable — the
cumulation of terms being intended to present that love in all
its aspects. And, in the words of a recent German writer :
" Such as Jehovah here proclaimed, He also manifested it among
Israel at all times, from Mount Sinai till He brought them into
the land of Canaan ; and thence till He cast them out among
the heathen. Nay, even now in their banishment, He is ' keep-
ing mercy for thousands, who turn to the Redeemer that has
come out of Zion.'"

When Moses thus fully understood the character of Jehovah,
he could once more plead for Israel, now converting into a plea
for forgiveness even the reason which had seemed to make the
presence of Jehovah among Israel dangerous — that they were a

* Ex. xxxiv. 1-4.

134 ^-^^^ Wanderings in the Wilderness.

stiff-necked people (ver. 9). In the same manner had the Lord,
in speaking to Noah, made the sin of man, which had erst pro-
voked judgment, the ground for future forbearance.^ And the
Lord now graciously confirmed once more His covenant with
Israel. In so doing He reminded them of its two conditions,
the one negative, the other positive, but both strictly con-
nected, and both applying to the time when Moses should be no
more, and Israel had entered on possession of the Promised
Land. These two conditions were always to be observed, if
the covenant was to be maintained. The one was avoidance
of all contact with the Canaanites and their idolatry (vers.
11-16) ; the other, observance of the service of Jehovah in the
manner prescribed by Him (vers. 17-26).

Another confirmation of the Divine message which Moses
bore from the mount, appeared on his return among Israel.
All unknown to himself, the reflection of the Divine glory had
been left upon him, and " the skin of his face shone ^ (shot out
rays) because of His (God's) talking with him."^ As Aaron
and the children of Israel were afraid of this reflection of the
Divine glory, Moses had to use a covering for his face while
speaking to them, which he only removed when conversing
with the Lord. It is to this that the apostle refers * when he
contrasts the Old Testament glory on the face of Moses, which
" was to be done away " — at any rate at the death of Moses —
and which was connected with what, after all, was " the minis-
tration of death," with " the ministration of the Spirit " and its
exceeding and enduring glory. Moreover, the vail with which
Moses had to cover his face was symbolical of the vail covering
the Old Testament, which is only " done away in Christ "
(2 Cor. iii. 13, 14).

Everything was now ready for the construction of the Taber-

* Gen. vi. 5, 6, comp. with Gen. viii. 21.

• The Hebrew word is derived from a horn, and some versions actually
translate : "he wist not that his face was /lorncdr From this the repre-
sentation of Moses with horns on his forehead has had its origin.

' So literally. * 2 Cor. iii. 7.

Contributions for ike Tabernacle. 135

nacle and of all requisite for its services. We can understand
how, especially in view of the work before them, the Sabbath
rest should now be once more enjoined.^ Then a proclamation
was made for voluntary contributions of all that was needful,
to which the people responded with such " willing offerings "
(xxxv. 29), that soon not only "sufficient" but "too much"
" for all the work " was gathered. ^ The amount of gold and
silver actually used is expressly mentioned in Exodus xxxviii.
24-26. The sum total of the gold amounts in present value to
at least 131,595/., and that of the silver to about 75,444/., or
both together to 207,039/. And it must be borne in mind, that
this sum does not indicate the whole amount offered by Israel
— only that actually employed. In regard to the silver, either
less of it was offered or none at all may have been required,
since the 75,444/. in silver represent the exact amount of the
*' ransom money "^ which every Israelite had to pay on their being
first numbered (xxxviii. 26). Nor was it only gold, silver, and
other material which the people brought. All "wise-hearted"
men and women " whose heart the Lord stirred up " — that is,
all who understood such work, and whose zeal was kindled by
love for God's sanctuary — busied themselves, according to
their ability, under the direction of Bezaleel, the grandson of
Hur, and Aholiab, of the tribe of Dan. But what chiefly im-
presses us in the sacred narrative is the evidence of spiritual
devotion, which appeared alike in the gifts and in the labour of
the people. "And Moses did look upon all the work, and,
behold, they had done it as Jehovah had commanded, even so
had they done it : and Moses blessed them."^

Under such willing hands, the whole work was completed
within an almost incredibly short period. On comparing
Exodus xix. I, which fixes the arrival of Israel at Mount Sinai
as in the third month (of the first year), with Exodus xl. 2, which
informs us that the Tabernacle was ready for setting up " on
the first day of the first month " (of the second year), we find

' Ex. XXXV. 2, 3. * Ex. xxxvi, 5-7. ' Ex. xxx. 12.

* Ex. xxxix. 43.

136 Tlie Wanderings i?t the Wilderness,

that an interval of nine months had elapsed. From this, how-
ever, must be deducted twice forty days, during which Moses
was on the mount, as well as the days when Israel prepared for
the covenant, and those when it was ratified and the law given,
and also the interval between Moses' first and second stay on
the mountain. Thus the whole of the elaborate work con-
nected with the Tabernacle and its ser\dces must have been done
within six 7Jionths. And now that " the Tabernacle was reared
up," Moses first placed within the Most Holy Place the Ark
holding " the testimony," and covered it with the mercy-seat ;
next, he ranged in the Holy Place, to the north, the table of
shewbread, setting " the bread in order upon it before the
Lord ;" then, to the south, " the candlestick," lighting its lamps
before the Lord ; and finally " the golden altar " " before the
vail " of the Most Holy Place, " and he burnt sweet incense
thereon." All this being done, and the curtain at the entrance
to the Tabernacle hung up,^ the altar of burnt-offering was
placed " by the door of the Tabernacle," and " the laver "
between it and that altar, although probably not in a straight
line, but somewhat to the side of the altar of burnt-offering.
And on the altar smoked the burnt and the meat-offering, and
the laver was filled with water, in which Moses, and Aaron, and
his sons washed their hands and their feet.

All was now quite in readiness — means, ordinances, and
appointed channels of blessing, and all was in waiting. One
thing only was needed ; but that the one upon which the mean-
ing and the efficacy of everything depended. But God was
faithful to His promise. As in believing expectancy Israel
looked up, "the cloud covered the tent of the congregation, and
the glory of Jehovah filled the Tabernacle." Outside, visible
to all, rested " upon the tent " that Cloud and Pillar, in which
Jehovah had hitherto guided them, and would continue so to do.
For, as the cloud by day and the appearance of fire by night
tarried over the Tabernacle, the children of Israel " abode in
their tents," " and journeyed not." But *' when it was taken

» Ex. xl. 28.

The Shechinah. 137

up," then Israel's camp speedily disappeared, and, journeying,
they followed their Divine Leader (comp. Numbers ix. 15-23).
A. constant^ visible^ and guiding Presence of Jehovah this among
His professing people, resting above the outer tent that
covered the Tabernacle. But within that Tabernacle itself there
was yet another and unapproachable Presence. For " the
glory of Jehovah filled the Tabernacle. And Moses was not
able to enter into the tent of the congregation, because the
cloud abode thereon, and the glory of Jehovah filled the Taber-
nacle."^ Presently it withdrew within the Most Holy Place,
into which none could enter but the high-priest once a year,
and that on the day and for the purpose of atonement, and
where it rested between the cherubim of glory, above the mercy-
seat, that covered the ark with the testimony. For " the way
into the holiest of all was not yet made manifest." " But Christ
being come an high-priest of good things to come, by a greater
and more perfect tabernacle, not made with hands, that is to
say, not of this building ; neither by the blood of goats and
calves, but by His own blood He entered in once into the
holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for us."^

CHAPTER XIV.
aui) <^bihu— Jttiigm^ut xi|rxrn th^ JJlasyh^m^r.

(Leviticus.)

THE Book of Exodus was intended to tell how the Lord
God redeemed and set apart for Himself " a peculiar
people." Accordingly, it appropriately closes with the erection
of the Tabernacle and the hallowing of it by the visible Presence
of Jehovah in the Holy Place. It yet remained to show the
other aspect of the covenant. For the provisions and the
» Ex. xl. 34, 35. "" Heb. ix. 8, 11, 12.

138 The Wanderings in the Wilderness.

means of grace must be accepted and used by those for whom
they are designed, and the " setting apart " of the people by
Jehovah implied, as its converse, consecration on the part of
Israel. And this forms the subject matter of the Book of
Leviticus,^ which a recent German writer has aptly described as
" the code regulating the spiritual life of Israel, viewed as the
people of God." To sum up its general contents — it tells
us in its first Part (i.-xvi.) how Israel was to approach God,
together with what, symbolically speaking, was inconsistent with
such approaches; and in its second Part (xvii.-xxvii.) how,
having been brought near to God, the people were to maintain,
to enjoy, and to exhibit the state of grace of which they had
become partakers. Of course, all is here symbolical, and we
must regard the directions and ordinances as conveying in an
outward form so many spiritual truths. Perhaps we might go
so far as to say, that Part I. of Leviticus exhibits, in a symboli-
cal form, the doctrine of Jitstificafion, and Part II. that of
sanctification ; or, more accurately : the manner of access to Goif,
and the holiness which is the result of that access.

It has already been pointed out, that the Book of Leviticus
consists of two Parts ; the one ending with chapter xvi. ; the
other, properly speaking, with chapter xxv. ; chapter xxvi. being
a general conclusion, indicating the blessings of faithful adher-
ence to the covenant, while chapter xxvii., which treats of
vowing unto the Lord, forms a most appropriate appendix.
At the close of the book itself,^ and of the chapter which, for
want of a better name, we have termed its appendix (xxvii.
34), we find expressions indicating the purpose of the whole,
and that the book of Leviticus forms in itself a special and
independent part of the Pentateuch. We repeat it : the Book

^ The Book of Lniticus, or about the Ixvitical ordinances, derives its
designation from the corresponding Greek term in the LXX translation, and
its Latin name in the Vulgate. It corresponds to the Rabbinical designation
of " Law of the Priests," and " Book of the Law of OfTerings." Among
the Jews it is commonly known as Vajikra, from the first word in the
Hebrew text : " Vajikra;' " He called."

' Lev. xxvi. 46.

The Book of Leviticus, 139

of Leviticus is intended for Israel as the people of God ; it is
the statute-book of Israel's spiritual life ; and, on both these
grounds, it is neither simply legal, in the sense of ordinary law,
nor yet merely ceremonial, but throughout symbolical anS^typical.
Accordingly, its deeper truths apply to all times and to all men.

Part I. (i.-xvi.), which tells Israel how to approach God so
as to have co?nmunion with Him, appropriately opens with a
description of the various kinds of sacrifices} It next treats of
the priesthood r" The thoroughly symbolical character of all,
and hence the necessity of closest adherence to the directions
given, are next illustrated by the judgment which befell those
who offered incense upon " strange fire."^ From the priesthood
the sacred text passes to the worshippers} These must be clean
— personally (xi. 1-47), in their faj}iily-Ufe,^ and as a congrega-
tion} Above and beyond all is the great cleansing of the
Day of Atonement^ with which the first part of the book, con-
cerning access to God, closes.

The Second Part of the Book of Leviticus, which describes, in
symbolical manner, the holiness that becometh the people of
God, treats, first, of persotial holiness^ then of holiness in the
family^ of holiness in social relations^^ and of holiness in the
priesthood}^ Thence the sacred text proceeds to holy seasons}"^
As the duty of close adherence to the Divine directions in
connection with the priesthood had been illustrated by the
judgment upon Nadab and Abihu,^^ so now the solemn duty,
incumbent on all Israel, to treat the Name of Jehovah as holy,
is exhibited in the punishment of one who had blasphemed it.^*
Finally, Leviticus xxv. describes the holiness of the lajid. Thus
Part II. treats more especially of consecration. As Part I.,
describing access to God, had culminated in the ordinance of
the Day of Atonement, so Part II. in that of the Jubilee Year.
Lastly, Leviticus xxvi. dwells on the blessing attaching to

* Lev. i.-vii. * Lev. viii.-x. ' Lev. x. 1-6.

* Lev. xi.-xv. * Lev. xii. ® Lev. xiii.-xv.
^ Lev. xvi. " Lev. xvii. ' Lev. xviii.

" Lev. xix. XX. " Lev. xxi. xxii. ^^ l^.^ j^j^jjj wix,

" Lev. X. 1-6. ^* Lev. xxiv. lo to end.

140 The Wanderings in the Wilderness.

faithful observance of the covenant ; while Leviticus xxvii.,
reaching, as it were, beyond ordinary demands and consecra-
tions, speaks of the free-will offerings of the heart, as represented
by vows.

It now only remains to describe the two illustrative instances
already referred to — the one connected with the priesthood, the
other with the people. Aaron and his sons had just been
solemnly consecrated to their holy office, and the offering,
which they had brought, consumed in view of the whole people
by fire from before Jehovah, to betoken His acceptance thereof.^
All the more did any transgression of the Lord's ordinance,
especially if committed by His priests, call for signal and
public punishment. But Nadab and Abi/iu, the two eldest sons
of Aaron, attempted to offer " strange fire before Jehovah, which
He commanded them not."^ Some writers have inferred
from the prohibition of wine or of any strong drink to the
priests during the time of their ministry, which immediately
follows upon the record of this event (x. 8-1 1), that these
two had been under some such influence at the time of their
daring attempt. The point is of small importance, compara-
tively speaking. It is not easy to say what the expression
" strange fire " exactly implies. Clearly, the two were going to
offer incense on the golden altar (ver. i), and as clearly this
service was about to be done at a time not prescribed by the
Lord. For a comparison of vers. 1 2 and 1 6 shows that it took
place between the sacrifice offered by Aaron ^ and the festive
meal following that sacrifice ; whereas incense was only to be
burnt at the morning and evening sacrifices. Besides, it may
be, that they also took " strange fire" in the sense of taking the
burning coals otherwise than from the altar of burnt-offering.
In the ceremonial for the Day of Atonement the latter is
expressly prescribed,* and it is a fair inference that the same
direction applied to every time of incensing. At any rate, we
know that such was the invariable rule in the Temple at the
time of Christ.

* Lev. ix. * Lev. x. i. ' Lev. ix. * Lev. xvi. 12.

Strange fire before Jehovah. 141

But Nadab and Abihu were not allowed to accomplish their
purpose. The same fire, which a little ago had consumed the
accepted sacrifice,^ now struck them, "and they died before
Jehovah," that is, in front of His dwelling-place — most pro-
bably in the court (comp. Leviticus i. 5), just as they were
about to enter the Holy Place. Thus, on the very day of their
consecration to the priesthood, did the oldest sons of Aaron
perish, because they had not sanctified the Lord in their hearts,
but had ofiered Him a worship of their own devising, instead
of that holy incense consumed by fire from oif the altar, which
symbolised prayer, offered up on the ground of accepted sacri-
fice. And this twofold lesson did the Lord Himself teach in
explanation of this judgment (x. 3). So far as the priesthood
was concerned — " I will sanctify Myself in those who stand
near to Me,^ and " (so far as all the people were concerned)
" before all the people I will glorify Myself." In other words,
if those who had been consecrated to Him would not sanctify
Him in heart and life. He would sanctify Himself in them by
judgments (comp. also Ezekiel xxxviii. 16), and thus glorify
His Name before all, as the Holy One, Who cannot with
impunity be provoked to anger.

So deeply was Aaron solemnized, that, in the language of
Scripture, he " held his peace." Not a word of complaint
escaped his lips ; nor yet was a token of mourning on his part,
or on that of his sons, allowed to cast the shadow of personal
feelings, or of latent regret, upon this signal vindication of
Divine holiness (x. 6). Only their " brethren, the whole
house of Israel " were permitted to " bewail this burning (of
His anger) which Jehovah hath kindled."

The history of the judgment upon the blasphemer^ was in-
serted in the portion of Leviticus where it stands, either because
it happened at the time when the laws there recorded were
given, or else because it forms a suitable introduction to, and
illustration of, the duty of owning Jehovah, which finds its fullest
outward expression in the rest of the Sabbatical and in the
* Lev. ix. 24. 2 So literally. * Lev. xxiv. 10-14.

142 The Wanderings in the Wilderness.

arrangements of the Jubilee Year, enjoined in Leviticus xxv.
It also affords another instance of the dangers accruing to
Israel from the presence among them of that " mixed multitude"
which had followed them from Egypt.^ There seems no reason
to doubt the Jewish view, that the latter occupied a separate
place in the camp ; the children of Israel being ranged accord-
ing to their tribes, " every man by his own standard, with the
ensign of their father's house." ^ But as the blasphemer was
only the son of a Danite mother — Shelomith, the daughter of
Dibri — his father having been an Egyptian,^ he would not
have been entitled to pitch his tent among the tribe of Dan.
Hebrew tradition further states, that this had been the cause. of
the quarrel, when the blasphemer " went out among the children
of Israel ; and this son of the Israelitish woman and a man of
Israel strove together in the camp." Finally, it adds, that the
claim to dwell among the Danites having been decided by
Moses against him, the man "blasphemed the Name* {of
Jehovah)^ and cursed." Whatever truth, if any, there be in this
tradition, the crime itself was most serious. If even cursing
one's parents was visited with death, what punishment could
be too severe upon one who had "reviled" Jehovah, and
" cursed !" But just because the case was so solemn, Moses
did not rashly adjudicate in it (comp. the corresponding delay

^ Ex. xii. 38. ' Numb. ii. 2.

' A very ancient Jewish tradition has it, that the father of this blasphemer
was the Egyptian whom Moses slew on account of his maltreatment of an
Hebrew (Ex. ii. ii, 12). Legendary details are added about the previous
offences of that Egyptian, which need not be here repeated. Their evident
object is, on the one hand, to render the passionate anger of Moses excus-
able, and, on the other, to account for the fact that an Egyptian was the
father of a child of which a Hebrewess was the mother.

* The Rabbis and the LXX version render the expression "blasphemed"
by "uttered distinctly," and Jewish traditionahsm has based upon this
rendering the prohibition ever to pronounce the name Jehovah — an ordinance
so well observed that even the exact pronunciation of the word is not cer-
tainly known. Most probably it should be pronounced Jahveh. In our
English Version, as in the LXX and Vulgate, it is rendered by " the LORD,"
the latter word being printed in capitals.

Punishment of Blasphemy. 143

in Numbers xv. 34). " They put him in ward to determine
about them {i.e. about blasphemers), according to the mouth
(or command) of Jehovah."^ Then by Divine direction the
blasphemer was taken without the camp; those who had
heard his blasphemy laid " their hands upon his head," as it
were to put away the blasphemy from themselves, and lay it
on the head of the guilty (comp. Deut. xxi. 6) ; and the whole
congregation shared in the judgment by stoning him.

But the general law which decreed the punishment of death
upon blasphemy 2 was to apply to native Israelites as well as to
the stranger, as indeed all crimes that carried retributive punish-
ment— specially those against the life or the person — were to be
equally visited, whether the offender were a Jew or a foreigner.
This is the object of the repetition of these laws in that connec-
tion.^ For Jehovah was not a national deity, like the gods of
the heathen ; nor were Israel's privileges those of exceptional
favour in case of offences ; but Jehovah was the Holy One of
Israel, and hohness became His house for ever.

CHAPTER XV.

^.nals^i^f 0f tk^ gjoxrk xrf givm\^tx%—%\it j:timb^rmg xrf
Israel, anb that ai the S^toit^s— ^rranijemettt oi the
Cam|r, anji it0 §2mbx»tiral Imp^xrrt— ^he Jttarrh.

(Nltmb. i.-iv. ; X. i-n.)

THE Book of Numbers* reads almost like a chronicle of the
principal events during the thirty-eight years which
elapsed between Israel's stay in the wilderness of Sinai, and

* So literally. * Lg^^ ^xiv. i6. ' Lev. xxiv. 17-22.

* This designation of the Fourth Book of Moses, from the numbering of
the people, is derived from its title in the LXX and in the Vulgate translation.
The Jews commonly call it either Vajedabber, from the first word in the
text, "And He (the Lord) spake ;" or else Bamidbar^ "in the wilderness."

144 ^^^^ Wanderings in the Wilderness.

their arrival on the borders of Canaan. What took place
during the journey to Mount Sinai had been intended to
prepare the people for the solemn events there enacted. Simi-
larly, the thirty-eight years' wanderings which followed were
designed to fit Israel for entering on possession of the Land of
Promise. The outward history of the people during that
period exhibited, on the one hand, the constant care and
mercy of Jehovah, and on the other, His holiness and His
judgments ; while the laws and ordinances given them were
needful for the organisation of the commonwealth of Israel in
its future relations. A brief analysis of the whole book will
show the connection of all.

In general, the Book of Numbers seems to consist of three
parts — \hQ first ^ detailing the preparations for the viarch from
Sinai; the second,^ the history of the journeyings of Israel
through the wilderness ; and the third^ the various occurrences
on the east of the Jordan. If we examine each of these parts
separately, we find that Part I. consists of four sections^ detailing
— I. The numbers and the outward arrangement of each of
the tribes,* and the appointment of the Levites to their service
(iii., iv.) ; 2. Laws concerning the higher and spiritual order
of the people, culminating in the priestly blessing (v., vi.) ;
3. The three last occurrences before leaving Mount Sinai (vii.,
viii., ix. 1-14); 4. The signals for the march in the wilderness
(ix. 15-X. 10).

Part II. tells the history of the wanderings of Israel, in
their three stages — i. From Sinai to Paran, near Kadesh,
detailing all that happened there (x. lo-xiv.) ; 2. From the
announcement of the death of the generation which had come
out from Egypt to the re-assembling of the people at Kadesh
in the fortieth year after the Exodus (xv.-xix.) ; 3. The
march from Kadesh to Mount Hor, with the events during its
course (xx., xxi.). Lastly, Part III. consists of five sections
detailing — i. The attempts of Moab and Midian against Israel

* Numb. i.-x. 10. ' Numb. x. ii.-xxi.

• Numb, xxii.-xxvi. * Numb, i., ii.

Census of the People. 145

(xxii.-xxv.) ; 2. A fresh census and the ordinances connected
with it (xxv.-xxvii.) ; 3. Certain sacred laws given in view of
settling in Palestine (xxviii.-xxx.) ; 4. The victory over
Midian, the division of the territory gained, along with a
review of the past (xxxi.-xxxiii. 49) ; 5. Some prospective
directions on taking possession of the Land of Promise
(xxxiii. 50-xxxvi.).^

Before leaving the encampment at Mount Sinai, God di-
rected Moses and Aaron to take a census of all who constituted
the host of Israel — in the language of Scripture : " All that are
able to go forth to war," " their armies,"^ that is, " every male
from twenty years old and upwards." In this they were to be
assisted by one delegate from each tribe, " every one head
of the house of his fathers " (i. 4) ; or, as they are designated
in ver. 16, "the called (representatives) of the congregation,
princes of their paternal tribes, heads of thousands in
Israel."^ The latter expression indicates that the census was
taken on the plan proposed by Jethro,* by which Israel was
arranged into thousands, hundreds, fifties, and tens. This also
accounts for the even mimbers assigned to each tribe as the
final result of the numbering. Manifestly, the census was
made on the basis of the poll taken, nine months before, for the
purpose of the "atonement money." ^ This poll had yielded a
total of 603,550,^ which is precisely the same number as that
in Numbers i. 46. Probably, therefore, the census was sub-
stantially only a re-arrangement and registration of the people
according to their tribes, in thousands, hundreds, fifties, and
tens, made with the co-operation of the hereditary rulers of the
tribes. The above number of men capable of bearing arms
would, if we may apply modern statistical results, imply a total
population of upwards of two viillio7is. Thirty-eight years later,

* We have substantially followed the arrangement of Keil, which agrees
with that of the best modern commentators. In our remarks as to the
numbering of the tribes, we have also availed ourselves of the same help.

- Numb. i. 3. ' This is the real meaning of the passage.

* Ex. xviii. 21, 25. ' Ex. XXX. 11-16. "^ Ex. xxxviii. 26.

L

146

TJie Wandermj^s in the Wilderness.

just before entering upon possession of the land, a second census
was taken,^ which yielded a total number of 601,730 capable
of bearing arms (xxvi. 5 1), thus showing a decrease of 1820 during
the years of wandering in the wilderness. Arranging these
two census according to the tribes, and placing them side by
side, we gather some interesting information :

First Census (Ex. xxx. ; Numb, i.)- Second Census (Numb. xxvi.).

Reuben . 46,500 (Prince Elizur, "My God the Rock.")

Simeon . 59,300 ( „ 6'-4^/«wiV/, " God my Salvation.") .

Gad . . 45,650 ( ,, .£/MJa//i, " My God that gathers.")

Judah2 . 74,600 ( „ Nahshon, " The Diviner.")

Issachar . 54,400 ( ,, Netha7ieel, " God the Giver.")

Zebulon . 57,400 ( „ .E/miJ, "My God the Father.")

Ephraim 40,500 ( „ ElisJuima, "My God the Hearer.")

Manasseh 32,200 ( „ Gawa/tV/, " My God the Rewarder.")

Benjamin 35,400 ( „ ^<Jz^a«, " My Father is Judge.") .

Dan . . 62,700 ( „ .^/iz^z^r, " My Brother is Help.") .

Asher . . 41 ,500 ( „ Faciei, either "My fate is God," or " My pr

Naphtali . 53,400 ( „ Ahira, "My Brother is Friend.")

IJrto (^

.^UlllU

43.730

22,200

40,500
76,500

64,300

60,500

32.500
52,700
45.600
64.400

jrayer-God.

053.400

.

.

45.400

603,550

601 , 730

A comparison of the foregoing figures will show, that, while
some of the tribes remarkably increased^ others equally remark-
ably decreased, during the thirty-eight years' wanderings. Thus,
for example, Issachar increased nineteen /^r cent., Benjamin and
Asher twenty-nine per ccfit, and Manasseh about sixty-three
per cetit. f while Reuben decreased six per ce?it, Gad twelve
per cent., Naphtali fifteen per cent, and Simeon almost sixty-three
per cent. Some interpreters have connected the large decrease
in the latter tribe with the judgment following upon the service
of Baal Peor ; the fact that Zimri, a prince of the tribe of
Simeon, had been such a notable offender* leading to the

* Numb. xxvi.

2 The names printed in capitals are those of the standard-bearers (see
further on). It will be seen that of the twelve princes he of Judah bears a
peculiar name. The name Nahshon is derived from a serpent. Without
indulging in fanciful speculations, we may be allowed to suggest that this
may bear prophetic reference to the Great Prophet who was to bnii.se the
head of the serpent. With this also agrees the name of his father Ammina-
dab, **my people is noble."

' The variations in population are very remarkable.

•* Numb. x.w. 6-14.

TJie Levites and ^^ t J le firs thorny 147

inference that the tribe itself had been largely implicated in
the sin.

It has already been noted, that the Levites were taken for
the ministry of the sanctuary in place of the firstborn of Israel.^
The number of the latter amounted to 22,273.2 But this state-
ment is not intended to imply that, among all the Jewish
males, amounting to upwards of a million ^ of all ages — from
the grandfather to the infant lately born — there were only
22,273 "firstborns." The latter figure evidently indicates only
the number of the firstborn since the departure from Egypt.
With reference to those born previously to the Exodus we are
expressly told :* " all the firstborn are Mine ; on the day that
I smote all the firstborn of Egypt I hallowed unto Me all the
firstborn in Israel." Hence the fresh hallowing of the firstborn
of Israel, and their subsequent numbering with a view to the
substitution of the Levites for them, must have dated from after
the Paschal 7iight. Thus the 22,273 firstborn sons, for whom the
Levites were substituted, represent those born after the depar-
ture from Egypt. If this number seems proportionally large,
it should be remembered that the oppressive measures of
Pharaoh would tend to diminish the number of marriages during
the latter part of Israel's stay in Egypt, while the prospect
of near freedom would, in a corresponding manner, immensely
increase them.^ Besides, it is a well-known fact that even now
the proportion of boys to girls is very much greater among

* Numb. iit. ii, 12. - Numb. iii. 43.

^ The total number of the people being computed at about two millions,
about one million of males would be the ordinary proportion.

* Numb. iii. 13 ; viii, 17.

5 It is indeed unsafe to draw ixompreseyit statistical data definite inferences
as to the state of Israel at that time. But nothing is so remarkable as the
influence of outward circumstances upon the annual number of marriages.
Thus in Austria there were, in 1851, 361,249 marriages among a popula-
tion of 36J millions ; \vhile in 1854, among a population of upwards of
37 millions, only 279,202 occurred. In England the population increased
between 1866 and 1869 by about a million, while in the latter year there
were nearly 11,000 marriages less than in the former.

L 2

148 TJie Wanderings in the Wilderness,

Jews than among Gentiles.^ Viewed in this Hght, the account
of Scripture on this subject presents no difficulties to the
careful reader.^

As already explained, the Levites were not numbered with
the other tribes, but separately,^ and appointed ministers to
Aaron the priest " for the service of the Tabernacle," in room
of the firstborn of Israel (iii. 5-13). Not being regarded as
part of the host, they were counted " from a month old and up-
ward," the number of their males amounting to 22,000, which
at the second census (after the thirty-eight years' wanderings)
had increased to 23,000.'* This has been computed to imply
about 13,000 men, from twenty years and upwards — a number
less than half that of the smallest of the other tribes (Benjamin,
35,400). With this computation agrees the statement^ that
the number of Levites "from thirty years old and upwards,
even unto fifty years old, every one that came to do the service
of the ministry," amounted in all to 8,580.^ The same pro-
portion between Levi and the rest of the people seems to have
continued in after times, as we gather from the results of the
census taken by King David,' when Levi had only increased

^ The proportion of boys to girls born in England varies most curiously
from year to year, and in different counties. The lowest during the last ten
years has been in Huntingdonshire in the year 1868, when it descended to
94 '3 boys to 100 girls. But the mean proportion during the last ten years
shows from 102 to 106 boys (the latter number in Cornwall) to 100 girls.
In the year 1832 the proportion in Geneva was 157 boys bom to 100 girls.
Among the Jews in some places the mean proportion has, on an average of
16 years, been as high as 145 boys to 100 girls. The reader who is curious
on this and similar subjects is referred to my article, '* On certain Physical
Peculiarities of the Jewish Race," in the Sunday Magazine for 1869,
pp. 315, etc.

^ The views of the Jews on the redemption of the firstborn at the time of
Christ differed from those of the Bible. See my Temple^ its Ministry an<f
Services at the time of Christ, p. 302.

* Numb. iii. 15. * Numb. iii. 39 ; xxvi. 62. ' Numb. iv. 48.

" We cannot here enter into further numerical details. But this we can
and do assert, that all supposed difficulties on this subject vanish before a
careful study of the sacred text.

^ I Chron. xxiii. 3.

Charge of the Levites. 149

from 23,000 to 38,000, while the rest of the tribes had more
than doubled. The Levites were arranged into families after
their ancestors, Gershofi^ Kohath^ and Merari^ the three sons of
Levi.^ The Gershonifes (again subdivided into two families, and
amounting to 7,500), under their leader Eliasaph — " My God that
gathers"^ — had charge of "the Tabernacle," or rather of "the
dweUing-place ;" of "the tent;" of "the covering thereof;" and of
" the hanging (or curtain) for the door of the tent of meeting ;"
as also of "the hangings of the court" (in which the Taber-
nacle stood) ; of the curtain for its door ; and of all the cordage
necessary for these " hangings." We have been particular in
translating this passage, because it proves that the common
view, which places the curtains " of fine twined linen, and blue,
and purple, and scarlet,"^ outside the boards that constituted
the framework of the Tabernacle, is entirely erroneous. Evidentl)'
these hangings, and not the boards, constituted " the Tabernacle,"
or rather "the dwelling"* — "the tent," outside the framework,
consisting of the eleven curtains of goats' hair,^ and "the
covering " of the whole being twofold — one " of rams' skins
dyed red," and another "of badgers' skins."®

Whilst the Gershonites had charge of " the dwelling," " the
tent," and the hangings of the outer court, the care of the
" boards of the dwelling," with all that belonged thereto, and of
"the pillars of the court round about" — in short, of all the outer
solid framework of the Tabernacle and of the court — devolved
upon the Merarites, under their chief, Zuriel (" My Rock is
God"). Finally, the most important charge — that of the
contents and vessels of the sanctuary — was committed to the
Kohathites, under their chief Elizaphan (" My God watcheth
round about ").

Viewed as a whole, the camp of Israel thus formed a threefold

^ Numb. iii. 14-43.

" The significance of the names of "the princes," as indicative of the
spiritual hopes of Israel while in Egypt, has ah-eady been pointed out in 2
former chapter. ^ Ex. xxvi. i.

* So it should 1)6 rendered both in Numb, iii. 25 and in Ex. xxvi. I, 6,

* Ex, xxvi. 7. * Ex. xxvi, 14,

150 The Wanderings in the Wilderness,

square — a symbolical design, further developed in the Temple
of Solomon, still more fully in that of Ezekiel, and finally shown
in all its completeness in " the city that lieth foursquare."^ The
innermost square — as yet elongated and therefore not perfect
in its width (or comprehension), nor yet having the perfect
form of a cube, except so far as the Most Holy Place itself
was concerned (which was a cube) — was occupied by "the
dwelling," covered by " the tent," and surrounded by its " court."
Around this inner was another square, occupied by the
ministers of the Tabernacle — in the East^ or at the entrance
to the court, by Moses, Aaron, and his sons ; in the South by
the Kohathites, who had the most important Levitical charge ;
in the West by the Gershonites; and in the North by the
Merarites. Finally, there was a third and outermost square,
which formed the camp of Israel. The easte:-n or most im-
portant place here was occupied hy Judah, bearing the standard
of the division. With Judah were Issachar and Zebulon (the
sons of Leah), the three tribes together a host of 186,400
men. The southern place was held by Reuben^ with the
standard of that division, camped probably nearest to Zebulon,
or at the south-eastern corner. With Reuben were Simeon
and Gad (the sons of Leah and of Zilpah, Leah's maid),
forming altogether a host of 151,450 men. The western post
was occupied by Ephraim, with the standard of his division,
being probably camped nearest to Gad, or at the south-western
corner. With Ephraim were Manasseh and Benjamin (in
short, the three descendants of Rachel), forming altogether
a host of 108,100 men. Lastly, the northern side was occu-
pied by Dan^ with his standard, camping probably nearest to
Benjamin, or at the north-western corner. With Dan were
Asher and Naphtali (the sons of Bilhah and Zilpah), forming
altogether a host of 157,600 men. This was also the order

' Rev. XX. 9 ; xxi. 16. We cannot here enter further into this subject.
But the symbolism of the threefokl square, and the symbolical meaning of
the prophetic visions in Ezekiel and the Book of Revelation will readily
present themselves to the thoughtful student of Scripture.

The Banners car^'ied by the Tribes. 151

of march, Judah with his division leading, after which came
Reuben, with his division, then the sanctuary with the Levites
in the order of their camping, the rear consisting of the
divisions of Ephraim and of Dan. The sacred text does not
specially describe the banners carried by the four leading
tribes. According to Jewish tradition they bore as emblems
"the likeness of the four living creatures," seen by Ezekiel
in his vision of the Cherubim,'^ the colour of the standard being
the same as that of the precious stones on the high-priest's
breastplate, on which the names of the standard-bearing tribes
were graven. ^ In that case Judah would have had on its
• standard a lio?i on a blood-red ground (the sardian stone or
sard), Reuben the head of a man on a ground of dark red
colour (the ruby or carbuncle), Ephraim the head of a bullock
on a ground of hyacinth (the ligury, according to some, Ligurian
amber), and Da7i an eagle on a ground of bright yellow, like
gold (the ancient chrysolith, perhaps our topaze). This, sup-
posing the names to have been graven in the order in which the
tribes camped. But Josephus and some of the Rabbis range
the names on the breastplate in the same order as on the
ephod of the high-priest,^ that is, "according to their birth."
In that case Reuben would have been on the sardian stone or
sard, Judah on the ruby or carbuncle, Dan on a sapphire, or
perhaps lapis-lazuli (blue), and Ephraim on an onyx, or else a
beryl,* the colour of the banners, of course, in each case corre-
sponding. Altogether the camp is supposed to have occupied
about three square miles.

The direction either for marching or for resting was, as
explained in a former chapter, given by the Cloud in which
the Divine Presence was. But for actual signal to move, two
silver trumpets were to be used by the sons of Aaron. A

* Ezek. i, 10. ^ Ex. xxviii. 1 5-2 1. ^ Ex. xxviii. 10.

* It will be perceived that interpreters differ as to the exact equivalent of
the precious stones mentioned in the sacred text. As to the arrangement
of the stones on the high-priest's breastplate, we prefer the view that the
order in the camp indicated that of the names on the breastplate.

152 The Wanderings in the Wilderness.

prolonged alann indicated the commencement of the march.
At the first alarm the eastern, at the second the southern part
of the camp was to move forward, then came the Tabernacle
and its custodians, the western, and finally the northern part of
the camp, Naphtali closing the rear. On the other hand,
when an assembly of the people was summoned, the signal was
only o?ie blast of the trumpets in short, sharp tones. In
general, and for all times, the blast of these silver trumpets,
whether in war, on festive, or on joyous occasions, had this
spiritual meaning : " ye shall be remembered before Jehovah
your God."^ In other words, Israel was a host, and as such
summoned by blast of trumpet. But Israel was a host of
which Jehovah was Leader and King, and the trumpets that
summoned this host were silver trumpets of the sanctuary,
blo\\Ti by the priests of Jehovah. Hence these their blasts
brought Israel as the Lord's host in remembrance before their
God and King.

CHAPTER XVL

^he (Df crings of the " J3riiues"— ^kc setting ap^art of llu
gebites— ^nb the §econli ObserUanec of the Jlassoljer.

(Xlmb. vii.-ix.)

THREE Other occurrences are recorded, before the camp of
Israel broke up from Mount Sinai, although they may
npt have taken place in the exact order in which, for special
reasons, they are told in the sacred text. These events were :
tlie offering of certain gifts on the part of '' the princes" of
Israel ;^ the actual setting apart of the Lei'ites to the service for
which they had been already previously designated ;^ and a
second observance of the Passover.^

* Numh. X, I- 10. * Numb, vii.

' Numh. viii. * Numb. ix. I-14.

Offerijigs of the Princes. 153

The offerings of the princes of Israel commenced imme-
diately after the consecration of the tabernacle.^ But their
record is inserted in Numbers vii., partly in order not to
interrupt the consecutive series of Levitical ordinances, which
naturally followed upon the narrative of the consecration of
the tabernacle,^ and partly because one of the offerings of the
princes bore special reference to the wilderness-journey, which
was then about to be immediately resumed. Probably these
offerings may have been brought on some of the days on which
part of the Levitical ordinances were also proclaimed. We
know that the presentation of gifts by the princes occupied,
altogether, the mornings of twelve, or rather of thirteen days.^
On the first day* they brought in common " six covered
waggons and twelve oxen," for the transport of the Tabernacle
during the journeyings of the children of Israel. Four of these
waggons with eight oxen were given to the Merarites, who had
charge of the heavy framework and of the pillars ; the other
two waggons and four oxen to the Gershonltes, who had the
custody of the hangings and curtains. As for the vessels of
the sanctuary, they were to be carried by the Kohathites on
their shoulders. Then, during the following twelve days " the
princes" offered successively each the same gift, that so
"there might be equality," anticipating in this also the New
Testament principle.^ Each offering consisted of a " silver
charger," weighing about four and a half pounds, a " silver
bowl," weighing about two and a quarter pounds, both of them
full of fine flour mingled with oil for a meat-offering, and a
"golden spoon," about a third of a pound in weight, "full of
incense." These gifts were accompanied by burnt, sin, and
peace-offerings, which no doubt were sacrificed each day, as
the vessels were presented in the sanctuary. And as they

^ Lev. viii. lo-ix. i ; comp. Numb. vii. i.

^ Lev. xi. to the end of the book.

3 With the help of a Paragraph Bible it would be easy to arrange the
Levitical ordinances (Lev. xi.-end) in twelve or thirteen sections for as
many days. * Numb. vii. 1-9.

' 2 Cor. viii. 14.

154 ^^^^ Wa7iderings hi the Wilderness.

brought their precious offerings, with humble confession of sin
over their sacrifices, with thanksgiving and with prayer,
the Lord graciously signified His acceptance by speaking
unto Moses " from off the mercy-seat," " from between the
cherubim."^

The second event was thefor?nal sefti?ig apart of the Levites^
which was preceded by a significant direction to Aaron in
reference to the Hghting of the seven-branched candlestick in
the sanctuary. To make the meaning of this symbol more
clear, it was added : " the seven lamps shall give light over
against the candlestick " — that is, each of the seven lamps (the
number being also significant) shall be so placed as to throw
its light into the darkness over against it. Each separately —
and yet each as part of the one candlestick in the Holy Place,
and burning the same sacred oil, was to shed light into the
darkness over against the candlestick. For the light on the
candlestick was symbolical of the mission of Israel as the
people of God, and the Levites were really only the repre-
sentatives of all Israel, having been substituted instead of their
firstborn.^ On this account, also, the Levites were not specially
"hallowed," as the priests had been,* but only "cleansed" for
their ministry, and after that presented to the Lord. The first
part of this symbolical service consisted in sprinkling on them
" water of sin " (rendered in our Authorised Version " water of
purifying"), alike to confess the defilement of sin and to point
to its removal. After that they were to shave off all their hair
and to wash their clothes. The Levites were now " unsinned "
(viii. 2 1),^ so far as their persons were concerned. Then followed

^ Numb, vii. 89. ^ Numb, viii, 5, etc. ^ Numb, iii, 11-13.

* We read in Ex, xxix. i, in reference to Aaron and his sons, " Hallow
them to minister unto Me in the priest's office" — hterally, "consecrate
them to priest unto Me" (we use the word "priest" as a verb). In the
case of the Levites there was neither consecration nor priesting, but cleansing
unto ministry or service. Of course, the Aaronic priesthood pointed to and
has ceased in Christ, our one great High-Priest.

* This is the literal rendering of the Hebrew term, which is the same as
that used by David in Ps. li. 9.

Setting apart of the L evites. 1 5 5

their dedication to tiie worlc. For this purpose the Levites
were led ** before the Tabernacle " (viii. 9), that is, probably
into the outer court, bringing with them two young bullocks — •
the one for a burnt, the other for a sin-offering, and each with its
meat-offering. The people, through their representatives — the
princes — now laid their hands upon them, as it were to con-
stitute them their substitutes and representatives. Then Aaron
took them "before Jehovah" (ver. 10), that is, into the Holy
Place, and " waved them for a wave-offering of the children of
Israel"^ — probably by leading them to the altar and back
again — after which, the Levites would lay their hands upon
the sacrifices which were now offered by Aaron, who so " made
an atonement for them" (ver. 21). The significance of all
these symbols will be sufficiently apparent. " And after that,
the Levites went in to do service in the Tabernacle of the
congregation" (ver. 22).

The third event recorded was a second celebration of the
Passover on the anniversary of Israel's deliverance from Egypt
— " in his appointed season, according to all the rites of it, and
according to all the ceremonies thereof."^ We specially mark
how the Lord now again directed all — the injunction to " keep
the Passover " being expressly repeated here, perhaps to obviate
the possibility of such a misunderstanding as that the Passover
was not to be observed from year to year. Again, when
certain men, "defiled by a dead body," complained that they
had thereby been excluded from the feast, Moses would not
decide the matter himself, but brought their case before God.
The direction given was, that, under such or similar circum-
stances, the Passover should be observed exactly a month
later, it being at the same time added, to guard against any
wilful, not necessary, neglect, that whoever omitted the ordi-
nance without such reason should "be cut off from among
His people."^ For, as the significance of symbolical rites

^ Rendered in our Authorised Version, '* Aaron shall offer the Levites for
an offering." ^ Numb. ix. 3.

* Numb. ix. 13.

156 The Wanderings in the Wilderness.

depended upon their entirety, so that if any part of them,
however small, had been omitted, the whole would have been
nullified, so, on the other hand, Israel's compliance with the
prescribed rites required to be complete in every detail to
secure the benefits promised to the obedience of faith. But
not to receive these benefits was to leave an Israelite outside
the covenant, or exposed to the Divine judgment. More
than that, being caused by unbelief or disobedience, it involved
the punishment due to open rebellion against God and His
Word.

CHAPTER XVII.

J^partttre from §tnat— Jftarrk iuta the OEtlirrnee© ai
^arait— ^t "^ab^ah anb ^ibrotk-hattaabah.

(Nl-mb. X. 29-xi.)

AT length, on the twentieth day of the second month,^ the
signal for departure from Sinai was given. The cloud
which had rested upon the Tabernacle moved ; the silver
trumpets of the priests summoned " the camps " of Israel to
their march, and as the Ark itself set forward, Moses, in joyous
confidence of faith, spake those words of mingled prayer and
praise which, as they marked the progress of Israel towards the
Land of Promise, have ever been the signal in every forward
movement of the Church •}

Arise, O Jehovah, let Thine enemies be scattered :
Let them also that hate Thee flee before Thee.

The general destination of Israel was, in the first place, " the
wilderness of Paran," a name known long before.^ This tract

* That is, the month after the Passover ; probably about the middle ot
May.

* Ps. Ixviii, I. "In order to arm the Church with confidence, and to
strengthen it with alacrity against the violent attacks of enemies." — Calvin.

^ Gen. xiv. 6 ; xxi. 21.

1

The Wilderness of Par an. 1 57

may be described as occupying the whole northern part of the
Sinaitic peninsula, between the so-called Arabah^ on the east,
and the wilderness of Shur in the west,^ which separates Philistia
from Egypt. Here Israel was, so to speak, hedged in by the
descendants of Esau — on the one side by the Edomites, whose
country lay east of the Arabah, and on the other by the
Amalekites, while right before them were the Amorites. The
whole district still bears the name Badiet et Tih, " the desert
of the wanderings." Its southern portion seems, as it were,
driven in wedgewise into the Sinaitic peninsula proper, from
which it is separated by a belt of sand. Ascending from the
so-called Tor, which had been the scene of the first year of
Israel's pilgrimage and of the Sinaitic legislation, the Tih might
be entered by one of several passes through the mountains
which form its southern boundary. The Et Tih itself " is a
limestone plateau of irregular surface."^ It may generally be
described as " open plains of sand and gravel . . . broken by
a i^wi valleys," and is at present "nearly waterless, with the ex-
ception of a few springs, situated in the larger wadies," which,
however, yield rather an admixture of sand and water than water.
*' The ground is for the most part hard and unyielding, and is
covered in many places with a carpet of small flints, which are
so worn and polished ... as to resemble pieces of black glass."
In spring, however, there is a scanty herbage even here, while
in the larger wadies there is always sufficient for camels, and
even " a few patches of ground available for cultivation." Such
was "that great and terrible wilderness, wherein were fiery
serpents, and scorpions,* and drought, where there was no
water,"^ through which Jehovah their God safely led Israel !

^ The deep valley which runs from the Dead Sea to the Gulf of Akabah.

* Gen. xvi. 7 ; Ex. xv. 22.

' When not otherwise stated, the quotations within inverted commas are
from Palmer's Desert of the Exodus.

* '* In the course of the day we caught and bottled a large specimen of
the cerastes, or horned snake, a very poisonous species, which abounds iu
the desert." — Desert of the Exodus ^ p. 310.

* Deut. viii. 15.

158 TJie Wanderings in the Wilderness.

A still earlier retrospect on the part of Moses brings the
events about to be described most vividly before us. Addressing
Israel, he reminds them -} " when we departed from Horeb,
we went through all that great and terrible wilderness, which
ye saw by the way of the mountain of the Amorites, as Jehovah
our God commanded us; and we came to Kadesh-barnea."
This " mountain of the Amorites " is the most interesting spot
in the whole Et Tih, or " wilderness of the wanderings." Arrived
there, it seemed as if Israel were just about to take possession
of the Promised Land. Thence the spies went forth to view the
land. But here also the sentence was spoken which doomed all
that unbelieving, faint-hearted generation to fall in the wilder-
ness, and thither Israel had to return at the end of their forty
years' wanderings to start, as it were, anew on their journey of
possession. " The mountain of the Amorites " is a mountain
plateau in the north-east of the Et Tih, about seventy miles
long, and from forty to fifty broad, which extends northward
to near Beersheba. It contains many spots known to us from
patriarchal histoiy, and also celebrated aftenvards. According
to the description of travellers, we are here, literally, in a land
of ruins, many of them dating far back, perhaps from the time
of the Exodus, if not earlier. Even the old name of the
Amorites is still everywhere preserved as Amir and 'Amori. It
leaves a peculiar impression on the mind to find not only the
old Scripture names of towns continued these thousands of
years, but actually to hear the wells which Abraham and Isaac
had dug still called by their ancient names ! About half
way towards Beersheba the whole character of the scenery
changes. Instead of the wilderness we have now broad valleys,
with many and increasing evidences of former habitation all
around. Indeed, we are now in the Negcb, or " south country"
(erroneously rendered " the south " in our Authorised Version),
which extends from about Kadesh to Beersheba. If " certain
primeval stone remains " found throughout the Sinaitic penin-
sula have been regarded by the latest travellers as marking the
* Deut. i. 19.

Resumption of the viarch. 1 59

journeyings, or rather the more prolonged settlements of Israel
in " the wilderness," there is one class of them which deserves
special attention. These are the so-called " Hazeroth," or
" fenced enclosures," consisting of " a low wall of stones in
which thick bundles of thorny acacia are inserted, the tangled
branches and long needle-like spikes forming a perfectly im-
penetrable hedge around the encampment " of tents and cattle
which they sheltered. These "Hazeroth," so frequently J
referred to in Scripture, abound in this district.

Such then was the goal and such the line of march before
Israel, when, on that day in early summer, the Ark and the host
of the Lord moved forward from the foot of Sinai. At the
reiterated request of Moses, Hobab, the brother-in-law of Moses,
had consented to accompany Israel, and to act as their guide
in the wilderness, in the faith of afterwards sharing " what good-
ness Jehovah " would do unto His people.^ This we learn
from such passages as Judges i. 16; i Samuel xv. 6; xxvii. 10;
XXX. 29. Although the pillar of cloud was the real guide of
Israel in all their journeying, yet the local knowledge of Hobab
would manifestly prove of the greatest use in indicating springs
and places of pasturage. And so it always is. The moving of
the cloud or its resting must be our sole guide ; but under its
direction the best means which human skill or knowledge
can suggest should be earnestly sought and thankfully used.

P'or three days Israel now journeyed without finding " a
resting-place." By that time they must have fairly entered
upon the " great and terrible wilderness." The scorching heat
of a May sun reflected by such a soil, the fatigues of such a
march, with probably scarcity of water and want of pasturage
for their flocks — all combined to depress those whose hearts
were not strong in faith and filled with longing for the better
country. Behind and around was the great wilderness, and, so
far as could be seen, no " resting-place " before them ! In
truth, before inheriting the promises, Israel had now to pass
through a trial of faith analogous to that which Abraham had
^ Numb. X, 32.

i6o The Wanderings in the Wilderness.

undergone. Only as in his case each victory had been marked
by increasing encouragements, in theirs each failure was
attended by louder warnings, till at last the judgment came
which deprived that unbelieving generation of their share in
the enjoyment of the promise. Three days' journey under
such difficulties,^ and " the people were as they who complain
of evil in the ears of Jehovah."^ But as this really reflected
upon His guidance, it displeased the Lord, and a fire, sent by
Jehovah, "consumed in the ends of the camp." At the inter-
cession of Moses "the fire was quenched." But the lesson
which might have been learned, and the warning conveyed in
the judgment which had begun in the uttermost parts of the
camp, remained unnoticed. Even the name Taberah (burning),
with which Moses had intended to perpetuate the memory of
this event, was unheeded. Possibly, the quenching of the fire
may have deadened their spiritual sensibility, as formerly the
removal of the plagues had hardened the heart of Pharaoh and
of his people. And so Taberah soon became Kibrqth-hattaavah?
and the fire of wrath that had burned in the uttermost parts
raged fiercely within the camp itself

The sin of Israel at Kibroth-hattaavah was due to lust, and
manifested itself in contempt for God's provision and in a desire
after that of Egypt. The " mixed multitude " which had come
up with Israel were the first to lust. From them it spread to
Israel. The past misery of Egypt — even its cruel bondage
— seemed for the moment quite forgotten, and only the lowest
thoughts of the abundant provision which it had supplied for
their carnal wants were present to their minds. This impatient
question of disappointed lustfulness, " Who shall give us flesh to
eat ?" repeated even to weeping, can only be accounted for by

* The distance of "three days' journey" (Numb. x. 33) prevents our
accepting Professor Palmer's theory, who identifies Taberah with the
present Erweis el Ebeirig, — Desert of the Exodus^ pp. 257, 312.

' Numb. xi. I.

" The locality of the two is evidently the same, as appears even from the
omission of Taberah from the list of encampments in Numb, xxxiii. 16.

Moses' Appeal to the Lord. l6l

such a state of feeling. But if it existed, it was natural that
God's gracious provision of manna should also be despised.
As if to mark their sin in this the more clearly, Scripture here
repeats its description of the manna, and of its miraculous
provision.^ When Moses found "the weeping" not confined
to any particular class, but general among the people (xi. lo),
and that " the anger of Jehovah was kindled greatly," his heart
sank within him. Yet, as has been well observed, he carried
his complaint to the Lord in prayer, and therefore his was not
the language of unbelief, only that of utter depression. Rightly
understood, these words of his, " Have I conceived all this
people ? have I begotten them ?" implied that not he but God
was their father and their provider,^ and that therefore he must
cast their care upon the Lord. But even so the trial of Moses
had in this instance become a temptation, although God gave
him "with the temptation a way of escape."

Two things would the Lord do in answer to the appeal of
Moses. First, He would, in His tender mercy, support and
encourage His servant, and then manifest His power and holi-
ness. With this twofold purpose in view, Moses was directed
to place seventy of the elders of Israel — probably in a semi-
circle— around the entrance to the Tabernacle. These " elders "
were henceforth to help Moses in bearing the burden of the
people. He had wished help, and he was now to receive it,
although he would soon experience that the help of man was
vain, and God alone the true helper. And then, to show in
sight of all men that He had appointed such help, yet only as a
help to Moses., God " came down in a cloud," spake unto Moses,
and then put of his spirit upon these " elders." In manifestation
of this new gift " they prophesied," by which, however, we are
to understand not the prediction of future events, but probably
that " speaking in the spirit " which in the New Testament also
is designated as " prophesying. "^ Further, lest in the mind of
the people this should be connected with any miraculous power
inherent in Moses, the same spirit descended, and with the same
* Numb. xi. 7-9. ^ Ex. iv. 22 ; Isa. Ixiii. 16. ^ i Cor. xii. ; xiv.

M

1 62 The Wander mgs in the Wilderness.

effect, upon two (Eldad arid Medad) who had been " written,"
that is, designated for the office, but who for some reason had
been prevented from appearing at the door of the Tabernacle.
The lesson, it was evident, was required, for even Joshua had
misunderstood the matter. When he found that Eldad and
Medad prophesied " in the camp," he deemed the authority of
his master compromised, and wished to " forbid them," since
these men had not received the gift through Moses. We are
here reminded of the similar conduct of John, who would have
forbidden one " casting out devils " in the name of Christ,
because he followed not with the other disciples, and of the
Lord's rebuke of such mistaken zeaF — a mistake too often
repeated, and a rebuke too much forgotten in the il^hristian
Church at all times. Far different were the feelings of Moses.
As a faithful servant, he emphatically disclaimed all honour for
himself, and only expressed the fervent wish that the same
spiritual gifts might be shared by all the Lord's people.

One thing was still required. God would manifest His
power in providing for the wants of the people, and His holiness
in taking vengeance on their lust. The lesson was specially
needed, for even Moses had, when first told, questioned the
full promise of providing for the whole people flesh sufficient
to last for a month. ^ And now the Lord again showed how
easily He can bring about supernatural results by what we call
natural means. As explained in a former chapter, in spring
the quails migrate in immense numbers from the interior of
Africa northwards. An east wind, blowing from the Arabian
Gulf, now drove them, in vast quantities, just over the camp of
Israel Here they fell down exhausted by the flight, and lay, to
the distance of a day's journey " on this side and on that," in
some places two cubits high. It is the same lesson which
we have so often learned in this history. The " wind " which
brought the quails " went forth from the Lord,"' and the number
brought was far beyond what is ordinarily witnessed, although
such a flight and drooping of birds are by no means uncommon.
* Mark ix. 38 ; Luke ix. 49. "^ Numb. xi. 18-23.

Kibroth-Hattaavah. 163

And so God can, by means unthought of, send sudden deliver-
ance— unexpectedly, even to one like Moses. But as for
Israel, they had now their wishes more than gratified. The
supply of flesh thus provided sufficed not only for the present,
but was such that the greater part of it was preserved for after
use (xi. 32). Thus had God shown the folly of those who
murmured against His provision or questioned His ability. It
still remained to punish the presumption and sin of thei^: con-
duct. " While the flesh was yet between their teeth, ere it was
chewed, the wrath of Jehovah was kindled against the people,
and Jehovah smote the people with a very great plague. And
he called the name of that place Kibroth-hattaavah (the graves
of lust) : because there they buried the people that lusted."
But how deeply the impression of this judgment sunk into the
hearts of the godly in Israel appears from such passages as
Psalm Ixxviii. 26-31, while its permanent lesson to all times is
summed up in these words : " He gave them their request ; but
sent leanness into their soul."^

CHAPTER XVIII.

JEttrmurittij xrf JHiriam anb '^txQXi—Waz §ptf0 %txii \a
Canaan — i:itnr "©toil ^v^Qxi" — %t\sz\Xx<i\\ xrf the
^ZQi^Xz, anb Jubijm^nt yrxjnonnr^b yxi^axi th^m — ^k^
%ziztii xrf i^rad "nntxr ^ijrmah."

(Numb. xii,-xiv.)

HITHERTO the spirit of rebellion on the part of the people
had been directed against Jehovah Himself. If Moses
had lately complained of continual trials in connection with
those to whom he stood in no way closely related,^ he was
now to experience the full bitterness of this : " A man's foes
shall be they of his own household."^ From Kibroth-hattaavah
^ Ps. cvi. 15. ^ Numb. xi. 12. ' Matt. x. 36.

M 2

164 The Wanderings hi the Wilderness.

Israel had journeyed to Hazeroth, a station the more difficult
to identify from the commonness of such " fenced enclosures "
in that neighbourhood.^ Here Miriam and — apparently at her
instigation^ — Aaron also "spake against Moses," as it is
added, " because of the Ethiopian woman whom he had
married," referring most likely to a second marriage which
Moses had contracted after the death of Zipporah. For the
first time we here encounter that pride of Israel after the flesh
and contempt for all other nations, which has appeared through-
out their after history, and in proportion as they have misunder-
stood the spiritual meaning of their calHng. Thus, as Calvin
remarks, Miriam and Aaron now actually boasted in that pro-
phetic gift, which should have only wrought in them a sense of
deep humihty.^ But Moses was not hke any ordinary prophet,
although in his extreme meekness he would not vindicate his
own position (xii. 3). He " was faithful," or approved, " to Him
that appointed him,"* not merely in any one special matter,
but " in all the house " of Jehovah, that is, in all pertaining to
the kingdom of God. And the Lord now vindicated His servant
both by public declaration, and by punishing* Miriam with
leprosy. At the entreaty of Aaron, who owned his sister's and
his own guilt, and at the intercession of Moses, this punishment
was indeed removed. But the isolation of Miriam from the
camp of Israel would teach all, how one who had boasted in
privileges greater than those of others might be deprived even
of the ordinary fellowship of Israel's camp.

The seven days of Miriam's separation were past, and Israel
again resumed the march towards the Land of Promise. They
had almost reached its boundary, when the event happened

* For the reason mentioned in a previous chapter we are unable to accept
Professor Palmer's identification of Hazeroth with 'Ain Hadherah, however
interesting the notices. See Desert of the Exodus^ vol. i., pp. 256, 259, 261,
and vol. ii., pp. 289, 313, etc.

' We gather this from the name of Miriam being first mentioned, and
from the fact that Numb. xii. i reads in the original : "And she spake,
Miriam and Aaron, against Moses."

' Numb, xii, 2. * Heb. iii. 2, 5.

Kadesh'Barnea. 165

which not only formed the turning-point in the history of that
generation, but which, more than any other, was typical of the
future of Israel. For as that generation in their unbelief refused
to enter the Land of Promise when its possession lay open
before them, and as they rebelled against God and cast off the
authority of Moses, so did their children reject the fulfilment
of the promises in Christ Jesus, disown Him whom God had ex-
alted a Prince and a Saviour, and cry out : " Away with Him !
away with Him !" And as the carcases of those who had
rebelled fell in the wilderness, so has similar spiritual judgment
followed upon the terrible cry : " His blood be upon us and
upon our children !" But, blessed be God, as mercy was ulti-
mately in store for the descendants of that rebelHous generation,
so also, in God's own time, will Israel turn again unto the
Lord and enjoy the promises made unto the fathers.

The scene of this ever-memorable event was " the wilderness
of Paran," or, to define the locality more exactly, Kadesh-barnea}
The spot has first been identified by Dr. Rowlands and Canon
Williams,^ and since so fully described by Professor Palmer,
that we can follow the progress of events, step by step. Kadesh
is the modern 'Ain Gadis, or spring of Kadesh, and lies in that
north-eastern plateau of the wilderness of Paran, which formed
the stronghold of the Amorites.^ A little north of it begins the
Negeb or " south country " of Palestine,* which, as already
explained, reaches to about Beersheba, and where the Promised
Land really begins. The district is suited for pasturage, and
contains abundant traces of former habitation, and, in the north,
also evidence of the former cultivation of vines. Here, and

^ Numb. xiii. 26 ; Deut. i. 19.

2 The merit of the discovery unquestionably belongs to Dr. Rowlands and
Canon Williams. See Williams, Holy City, vol. i., p. 464.

^ Kadesh was formerly called En Mishpat, " Well of Judgment," Gen,
xiv. 7, The recurrence of the Eti in the earlier name identifies it more
closely with the ^Ain Gadis of Canon Williams, Mr. Wilton, and Professor
Palmer.

* The rendering "south," in our Authorised Version, is apt to confuse the
general reader.

1 66 Tlic Wanderings in the Wilderness >

not, as is usually supposed, in the neighbourhood of Hebron,
we must look for that valley of Eshcol^ whence the spies after-
wards on their return brought the clusters of grapes, as specimens
of the productiveness of the country. Kadesh itself is the
plain at the foot of the cliff whence the 'Ain Gadis springs.
To the east is a ridge of mountains, to the west stretches a
wide plain, where the Canaanites had gathered to await the
advance of Israel. Hence, if the spies were to " get up this
Negeb" ("south country"), they had "to go up by the moun-
tain,"^ in order to avoid the host of Canaan. In so doing they
made a detour, passing south of 'Ain Gadis, through what is
called in Scripture the wilderness of Zin (xiii. 21), from which
they ascended into the mountains. Thus much seems neces-
sary to understand the localisation of the narrative.

But to return. From Deut. i. 22, we gather that the proposal
of sending spies " to search out the land " had originally come
from the people. By permission of the Lord, Moses had agreed
to it,^ adding, however, a warning to " be of good courage "
(Numb. xiii. 20), lest this should be associated with fear of the
people of the land. Twelve persons, seemingly the most suitable
for the work, — spiritually and otherwise — were chosen from
" the rulers " of the tribes.'* Of these we only know Caleb and
Joshua, the " minister of Moses," whose name Moses had
formerly changed from Hoshea, which means ^^help^' to Joshua,
or '' Jehovah is help." Detailed and accurate directions having
been given them, the spies left the camp of Israel " at the time
of the first-ripe grapes," that is, about the end of July. Thus
far they were successful. Eluding the Canaanites, they entered
Palestine, and searched the land to its northernmost boundary,
"unto Rehob, as men come to Hamath," that is, as far as the
plain of Coele-Syria. On their way back, coming from the north,
they would of course not be suspected. Accordingly they now

' Eshcol means in Hebrew a bunch of grapes.
' Numb. xiii. 17, 22. ^ Numb. xiii. i.

* Not from the "princes," as appears by a comparison of names. Comp.
Numb. xiii. 4-15 with i. 5, etc. ; vii. 12, etc

Report of the " Spies!' 1 6^

descended by Hebron, and explored the route which led into
the Negeb by the western edge of the mountains. " In one of
these extensive valleys — perhaps in Wady Hanein, where miles
of grape-mounds even now meet the eye — they cut the gigantic
cluster of grapes, and gathered the pomegranates and figs, to
show how goodly was the land which the Lord had promised
for their inheritance."^ After forty days' absence the spies
returned to camp. The report and the evidence of the fruit-
fulness of the land which they brought, fully confirmed the
original promise of God to Israel.^ But they added -? " Only
that the people is strong which occupieth the land, and the
cities fortified, very great, and also descendants of the Anak
have we seen there,"'^ whom, in their fear, they seem to have
identified (ver. '^'^ with the Nephilim of the antediluvian world. ^
This account produced immediate terror, which Caleb sought
in vain to allay. His opposition only elicited stronger language
on the part of the other " spies," culminating in their assertion,
that, even if Israel were to possess the land, it was one " that
eateth up its inhabitants," that is, a country surrounded and
peopled by fierce races in a state of constant warfare for its
possession. Thus the most trustworthy and the bravest from
among their tribes, with only the exception of Caleb and of
Joshua (whose testimony might be set aside on the ground of
his intimate relationship to Moses), now declared their inabihty
either to conquer or to hold the land, for the sake of which they
had left the comforts of Egypt and endured the hardships and
dangers of " the great and terrible wilderness !" A night of
complete demoralisation followed — the result being open revolt
against Moses and Aaron, direct rebellion against Jehovah, and
a proposal to elect a fresh leader and return to Egypt ! In vain

^ Palmer's Desert of the Exodus, vol. ii., p. 512.

2 Ex. iii. 8. 3 Numb. xiii. 28.

* So literally. ** The Anak" were probably a race or tribe, perhaps
remnants of the original inhabitants of Palestine before the Canaanites took
possession of it. The meaning oi Anak is probably *• long-necked."

'" Gen. vi. 4. Rendered in the Authorised Version " giants," in Niuub.
xiii. 33.

1 68 The Wa7tderings in the Wilderness.

Moses and Aaron " fell on their faces " before God in sight of
all the congregation ; in vain Joshua and Caleb " rent their
clothes" in token of mourning, and besought the people to
remember that the Presence of Jehovah with them implied
certain success. The excited people only " spake " of stoning
them, when of a sudden " the glory of Jehovah visibly appeared
in the tent of meeting to all the children of Israel."^ Almost
had the Lord destroyed the whole people on the spot, when
Moses again interposed — a type of the great Leader and
Mediator of His people. With pleadings more urgent than
ever before, he wrestled with God — his language in its intensity
consisting of short, abrupt sentences, piled, as it were, petition
on petition, but all founded on the glory of God, on His past
dealings, and especially on the greatness of His mercy, repeating
in reference to this the very words in which the Lord had
formerly condescended to reveal His inmost Being, when pro-
claiming His " Name " before Moses. ^ Such plea could not
remain unheeded; it was typical of the great plea and the
great Pleader. But as, when long afterwards Israel called down
upon themselves and their children the blood of Jesus, long
and sore judgments were- to befall the stiifnecked and rebellious,
even although ultimately all Israel should be saved, so was it at
Kadesh. According to the number of days that the spies had
searched the land, were to be the years of their wanderings in
the wilderness, and of all that generation which had come out
from Egypt, at the age of twenty and upwards, not one was to
enter the Land of Promise,^ but their carcases were to fall in
that wilderness, with the exception of Caleb and Joshua."* But

' Numb. xiv. lo. ^ Ex. xxxiii. 17, 19.

^ It may be instructive to know that Numb. xiv. 21 should be rendered :
"but as truly as I live, and all the earth shall be filled with the glory of
Jehovah."

* As the tribe of Levi was not numbered with the rest (Numb, i.), they
did not apparently fall within the designation of those who were to die in
the wilderness (Numb. xiv. 29). Comp. Josh. xiv. i, etc. The Rabbis
enumerate literally ten temptations on the part of Israel (Numb. xiv. 22) ;
it need scarcely be said, very fancifully.

Spuriotis Repentance of Israel. 169

as for the other ten searchers of the land, quick destruction
overtook them, and they "died by the plague before Jehovah."
This commencement of Divine judgment, coupled as it was
with abundant evidence of its reality — especially in the im-
mediate destruction of the ten spies, while Caleb and Joshua
were preserved alive — produced an effect so strange and un-
looked for, that we could scarcely understand it, but for kindred
experience in all ages of the Church. It was now quite plain
to Israel what they might, and certainly would have obtained,
had they only gone fonvard. Yesterday that Land of Promise —
in all its beauty and with all its riches — so close at hand as to
be almost within sight of those mountain ranges, was literally
theirs. To-day it was lost to them. Not one of their number
was even to see it. More than that, their carcases were to fall
in that wilderness ! All this simply because they would not go
forward yesterday ! Let them do so to-day. If they had then
done wrong, let them do the opposite to-day, and they would
do right. Moreover, it was to Israel that God had pledged
His word, and as Israel He would have brought them into
the land. They were Israel still : let them now go forward and
claim Israel's portion. But it was not so j and never is so in
kindred circumstances. The wrong of our rebellion and un-
belief is not turned into right by attempting the exact opposite.
It is still the same spirit, which prompted the one, that influences
the other. The obedience which is not of simple faith is of
self-confidence, and only another kind of unbelief and self-
righteousness. It is not the doing of this or that, nor the cir-
cumstance of outwardly belonging to Israel, which secures
victory over the enemy, safety, or possession of the land. It
is that ''Jehovah is among us."^ And the victory is ever that
of faith. Not a dead promise to the descendants of Jacob
after the flesh, but the presence of the living God among His
believing Israel secured to them the benefits of the covenant.
And Israel's determination to go up on the morrow, and so to
retrieve the past, argued as great spiritual ignorance and unfit-
' Numb. xiv. 42.

I/O TJie Wanderings in the Wilderness.

ness, and involved as much rebellion and sin, as their former
faint-heartedness and rebellion at the report of the spies.

In vain Moses urged these considerations on the people.
The people "presumed^ to go up to the head of the moun-
tain," although Moses and the Ark of the Covenant of Jehovah
remained behind in the camp. From Kadesh it is only about
twenty miles to fformah, to which place their enemies afterwards
" smote and discomfited them.'' As we know from the descrip-
tions of travellers, increasing fertility, cultivation, and civilisa-
tion must have met the host as it advanced into the Negeb.
The Israelites were in fact nearing what they must have felt
home-ground — sacred to them by association with Abraham and
Isaac. For a little to the north of Hormah are the wells of
Rehoboth, Sitnah, and Beersheba, which Abraham and Isaac had
dug, the memory of which is to this day preserved in the modem
names of Ruheibeh, Shutneh, and Bir Seba. Abraham himself
had " journeyed toward the Negeb, and dwelled between Kadesh
and Shur,"^ and Isaac had followed closely in his footsteps.^
And of the next occupants of the land, the Amorites, we find
almost constantly recurring mementoes, and nowhere more dis-
tinctly than in the immediate neighbourhood of Hormah. From
Judges i. 17, we know that that city, or probably rather the fort
commanding it, had originally borne the name of Zephath, which
simply means "watch-tower." The name Hormah, or " banning,"
was probably given it on a later occasion, when, after the attack
of the king of Arad, Israel had " vowed the vow " utterly to
destroy the cities of the Canaanites (Numb. xxi. 1-3). But, as
Dr. Rowlands and Canon Williams have shown, the name
Zephath has been presei-ved in the ruins of Sebaita, while Pro-
fessor Palmer has discovered, close by, the ancient "watch-tower,"
which was a strong fort on the top of a hill commanding Sebaita.
It is intensely interesting, amid the ruins of later fortifications,

* " Raised themselves up to go." Tliis rendering seems the best.
Others have translated, "they despised, so as," etc., or, " they persistently
contended."

* Gen. XX. I. » Gen. xxvi. 17 to end.

The Defeat ^^ unto H or mahr 171

to come upon these primeval remains, which mark not only the
ancient site of Zephath, but may represent the very fort behind
which the Amorites and Canaanites defended themselves against
Israel, and whence they issued to tliis war. As if to make it
impossible to mistake this " mountain of the Amorites," the
valley north of Sebaita bears to this day the name Dheigat el
'Amerin, or Ravine of the Amorites, and the chain of mountains
to the south-west of the fort that of Ras Amir, " head " or top
" of the Amorites."!

Israel had presumed to go up into this mountain-top without
the presence of Jehovah, without the Ark of the Covenant, and
without Moses. Yesterday they had been taught the lesson
that their seeming weakness would be real strength, if Jehovah
were among them. To-day they had in bitter experience to
find out this other and equally painful truth — that their seeming
strength was real weakness. Smitten and discomfited by their
enemies, they fled " even unto Hormah."

CHAPTER XIX.

^ht ^htttg-^t^ht Jearief m the WXX^vcxitQQ—%\it gabbatk-
br^aker — ^ke (iain0aging ai gxrrak mtli ssi Vi^ ,^000-
rtates— J^ttrmuring x)f the '^ZQi^Xt ; Vaz jpiajjue, attb koto
it toa0 staseJ) — ^acon'^ ^ojb bubbing, blxr00omin9, anb
bearing Jfrtxit.

(Numb. xv. ; xxxiii. 19-37 ; Deut. i. 46-11. 15 ; Numb, xvr., xvii.)

MORE than thirty-seven years of " wanderings " were now
to be passed in " the wilderness of Paran," till a new
generation had risen to enter on possession of the Land of
Promise. Of that long period scarcely more than one single
record is left us in Scripture. As a German writer observes :
The host of Israel, being doomed to judgment, ceased to be
* Desert of the Exodus, vol. ii. p. 380.

1/2 The Wanderings in the Wilderness.

the subject of sacred history, while the rising generation, in
whom the Hfe and hope of Israel now centred, had, as yet, no
history of its own. And so we mark all this period rather by
the death of the old than by the life of the new, and the
wanderings of Israel by the graves which they left behind, as
their carcases fell in the wilderness.

Still, we may profitably gather together the various notices
scattered in Scripture. First, then, we learn that Israel " abode
in Kadesh many days,"^ and that thence their direction was
"towards the Red Sea."^ Their farthest halting-place from
Kadesh seems to have been Ezion-gaber, which, as we know,
lay on the so-called Elanitic Gulf of the Red Sea. Thence
they returned, at the end of the forty years' wanderings, once
more to " the wilderness of Zin, which is Kadesh."^ The " sta-
tions" on their wanderings from Kadesh to Ezion-gaber are
marked in Numbers xxxiii. 18-35. There are just seventeen
of them, after leaving Rithmah — a name derived from retem, a
broom-bush, and which may therefore signify the valley of the
broom-bushes. If we rightly understand it, this was the
original place of the encampment of Israel near Kadesh. In
point of fact, there is a plain close to 'Ain Gadis or Kadesh
which to this day bears the name of Abu Retemet. As for
Kadesh itself— or the Holy Place, the place of " sanctifying " —
which originally bore the name En Mishpat, *'well of judg-
ment,"'* we imagine that it derived its peculiar name from
the events that there took place, the additional designation of
Barnea — Kadesh Barnea — either marking a former name of the
place, or more probably meaning " the land of moving to and
fro."^ We presume that the encampment in " the broom-valley"
was in all probabiUty determined by the existence and promise
of vegetation there, which, no doubt, was due to the presence

^ Deut. i. 46. « Deut. ii. i.

' Numb, xxxiii. 36. * Gen. xiv, 7.

' Or *' wanderrng," or "being shaken." Bishop Harold Browne
suggests the query whether there may be any allusion to this in Ps. xxix. 8 ;
"The Lord shaketh the wilderness of Kadesh."

Stations in the Wilderness. 173

of watercourses. Indeed, an examination of the names of the
seventeen stations occupied by Israel during their wanderings
shows, that all the encampments were similarly selected in
the neighbourhood of water and vegetation. Thus we have
^//;/w^;2-/^r^2^, " the pomegranate breach" — perhaps the place
where Korah's rebellion brought such terrible punishment;
Libnah^ "whiteness," probably from the white poplar trees
growing there ; Rissa/i, " dew ;" Mount Shapher, " the mount
of beauty," or " of goodliness ;" Mithcah, " sweetness," in refer-
ence to the water; Hashmonah^ "fatness," " fruitfulness," where
to this day there is a pool full of sweet living water, with
abundant vegetation around ; Bene-Jaakan, or, as in Deut. x. 6,^
Beeroth Be?te-Jaaka?i, " the wells of the children of Jaakan,"
probably the wells which the Jaakanites had dug on their ex-
pulsion by the Edomites from their original homes ;^ Jotbathah,
*' goodness;" and Ebroftah, probably "fords." The other
names are either derived from peculiarities of scenery, or else
from special events, as Kehelathah, "assembling;" Makheloth,
^'assembUes;" Haradah^ "place of terror," etc.^

^ In Deut. X. 6, 7, four of these stations are again mentioned, but in
the inverse order from Numb, xxxiii. Evidently in Numb, xxxiii. we have
the camps from Kadesh to Ezion-gaber during the thirty-seven years of
wandering ; while in Deut. x. 6, 7 the reference is to the march from
Kadesh to Mount Hor in the fortieth year (after the seco7td stay at Kadesh)
on the journey of Israel to take possession of the land. But the apparently
strange insertion of verses 6 and 7 in Deut. x., interrupting a quite different
narrative, requires explanation. In vers. 1-5 Moses reminds the people
how, in answer to his prayer, God had restored His covenant. Verses
6 and 7 are then inserted to show that not only the covenant, but also the
mediatorial office of the high-priesthood had been similarly granted anew.
God had not only continued it to Aaron, but, on his death at Mosera,
Eleazar had been invested with the office, and under his ministry the
tribes had continued their onward march. Instead of explaining all this in
detail, Moses simply reminds the children of Israel (vers. 6, 7) of the
historical facts of the case, which would speak for themselves.

- Gen. xxxvi. 27 ; i Chron. i. 42.

' Many of these stations have been identified — at least, with a great
degree of probability. But an account of the various suggestions of modern
explorers would lead too much into details.

174 The Wanderings in the Wilderness.

The first impression which we derive, alike from the fewness
of these stations, and from their situation, is, that the encamp-
ments were successively occupied for lengthened periods.
More than that, we infer from the peculiar wording of some
expressions in the original, that, during these thirty-eight years,
the people were scattered up and down, the Tabernacle with
the Levites forming, as it were, a kind of central camp and
rallying-place. It is also quite certain that, at that period, the
district in which the wanderings of Israel lay was capable of
supporting such a nomadic population with their flocks and
herds. Indeed, the presence of water, if turned to account,
would always transform any part of that wilderness into a
fruitful garden. In this respect the knowledge of irrigation,
which the Israelites had acquired in Egypt, must have been of
special use. Lastly, the people were not quite isolated. Not
only were they near what we might call the direct highway
between the East and Egypt, but they were in contact with
other tribes, such as the Bene-jaakan. Deut. ii. 26-29 seems
to imply that at times it was possible to purchase provisions
and water, while Deut. ii. 7 shows that Israel had not only
"lacked nothing" during "these forty years," but that they
had greatly increased in substance and wealth. Such passages
as Deut. viii. 14, etc. ; xxix. 5 ; and Neh. ix. 21 prove in what
remarkable manner God had cared for all the wants of His
people during that period ; and there can be no doubt that in
the prophetic imagery of the future, especially by Isaiah, there
is frequent retrospect to God's gracious dealings with Israel in
the wilderness.^

Brief as is the record of these thirty-eight years, it contains a
notice of two events — both in rebellion against the Lord. The
first gives an account of a man who had openly violated the

* See Speaker's Commentary^ vol. ii. p. 720, note. The clearest indi-
cation of this is found in Isa. xliii. 16-21. But I think it a mistake to trace
in Ps. Ixxiv. 14, an allusion to a supply of fish from the Elanitic Gulf of the
Red Sea, although it is true that several of the encampments of Israel were
on, or quite close to, its shores.

Ptuiishmejit of the Sabbath-breaker. 175

Divine law by gathering "sticks upon the Sabbath day."^
Although the punishment of death had been awarded to such a
"presumptuous sin,"^ the offender was, in the first place, "put
in ward," partly to own the Lord by specially asking His
direction, since only the punishment itself but not its mode
had been previously indicated, and partly perhaps to impress
all Israel with the solemnity of the matter. Due observance
of the Lord's day was, indeed, from every point of view, a
question of deepest importance to Israel, and the offender was,
by Divine direction, " brought without the camp, and stoned
with stones, and he died." We are not told at what particular
period of the wanderings of Israel this event had occurred. It
is apparently inserted as an instance and illustration, imme-
diately after the warning against " presumptuous sins " (literally,
" sins with a hand uplifted," viz., against Jehovah). These sins
in open contempt of God's word involved the punishment of
being "cut off" from the people of the Lord.

Nor have we any precise date by which to fix the other and
far more serious instance of rebellion on the part of Korah and
of his associates,^ in which afterwards the people, as a whole,
were implicated.* There is, however, reason to suppose that it
occurred at an early period of " the wanderings " — perhaps, as
already suggested, at Rimmon-parez. The leaders of this re-
bellion were Korah, a Levite — a descendant of Izhar, the brother
of Amram,^ and therefore a near relative of Aaron — and three
Reubenites, Dathan, Abiram, and On. But as the latter is not
further mentioned, we may suppose that he early withdrew
from the conspiracy. These men gained over to their side no
fewer than two hundred and fifty princes from among the other
tribes,^ all of them members of the national representative

1 Numb. XV. 32-36. 2 Ex. xxxi. 14, etc, ; xxxv. 2.

3 Numb. xvi. * Numb. xvi. 41-50.

* Ex. vi. 18.

® The statement that Zelophehad, a Manassite, had not been "in the
company of Korah " (Nujnb. xxvii. 3), implies that his fellow-conspirators
belonged to the various tribes.

i']6 The Wanderings hi the Wilderness.

council,^ and " men of renown," or, as we should express it,
well-known leading men. Thus the movement assumed very-
large proportions, and evidenced wide-spread disaffection and
dissatisfaction. The motives of this conspiracy seem plain
enough. They were simply jealousy and disappointed am-
bition, though the rebels assumed the language of a higher
spirituality. As descended from a brother of Aaron, Korah
disliked, and perhaps coveted, what seemed to him the supre-
macy of Aaron, for which he could see no valid reason. He
had also a special grievance of his own. True, he was one
of that family of the Kohathites to whom the chief Levitical
charge in the sanctuary had been committed; but then the
Kohathites numbered four families,^ and the leadership of the
whole was entrusted not to any of the older branches, but to the
youngest, the Uzzielites (Numb. iii. 30). Was there not manifest
wrong and injustice in this, probably affecting Korah person-
ally ? It speaks well for the Levites as a whole, that, notwith-
standing all this, Korah was unable to inveigle any of them in
his conspiracy. But close to the tents of the Kohathites and
of Korah was the encampment of the tribe of Reuben, who
held command of the division on the south side of the camp.
Possibly — and indeed the narrative of their punishment seems
to imply this — the tent of Korah and those of the Reubenite
princes, Dathan, Abiram, and On, were contiguous. And
Reuben also had a grievance ; for was not Reuben Jacob's first-
born, who should therefore have held the leadership among the
tribes? It was not difficult to kindle the flame of jealousy
in an Eastern breast. What claim or right had Moses, or
rather the tribe of Levi whom he represented, to supremacy in
Israel? Assuredly this was a grievous wrong and an in-
tolerable usurpation, primarily as it affected Reuben, and
secondarily all the other tribes. This explains the ready

* The Authorised Version (Numb. xvi. 2) translates "famous,'" but the
literal rendering is " called to the meeting," evidently members of the
national representative council. See Numb. i. 16.

' Numb. iii. 27.

Motives for the Rebellion of Korah. 177

participation of so many of the princes in the conspiracy,
the expostulation of Moses with Korah (xvi. 8-1 1), and his
indignant appeal to God against the implied charges of the
Reubenites (ver. 15). Indeed, the conspirators expressly stated
these views as follows (ver. 3) : " Sufficient for you !" — that is.
You, Moses and Aaron, have long enough held the priesthood
and the government; "for the whole congregation, all are
holy, and in the midst of them Jehovah. And why exalt ye
yourselves over the convocation^ of Jehovah?" It will be
observed that the pretence which they put forward to cover
their selfish, ambidous motives was that of a higher spirituality,
which recognised none other than the spiritual priesthood of all
Israel. But, as we shall presently show, their claim to it was
not founded on the typical mediatorship of the high-priest, but
on their standing as Israel after the flesh.

The whole of this history is so sad, the judgment which
followed it so terrible — finding no other parallel than that
which in the New Testament Church overtook Ananias and
Sapphira — and the rebellion itself is so frequently referred to in
Scripture, that it requires more special consideration. The
rebellion of Korah, as it is generally called, from its prime
mover, was, of course, an act of direct opposition to the
appointment of God. But this was not all. The principle
expressed in their gainsaying (ver. 3) ran directly counter to
the whole design of the old covenant, and would, if carried out,
have entirely subverted its typical character. It was, indeed,
quite true that all Israel were holy and priests, yet not in
virtue of their birth or national standing, but through the
typical priesthood of Aaron, who " brought them nigh " and

* We have rendered the term literally by *' convocation." Two different
terms are used in this chapter. One of these — edah — means, literally, con-
gregation, and may be said to designate Israel as the outward and visible
Church. The other term is kahal, literally " the called," or convocation,
and refers to the spiritual character of Israel as called of God. Thus the dis-
tinction of an outward and visible and a spiritual Church had its equivalent
in the Old Testament. In this chapter the term kahal occurs only in
ver. 3, and again in ver. 33.

N

178 TJie W under mgs in the Wilderness.

was their intermediary with God. Again, this priesthood of
Aaron, as indeed all similar selections— such as those of the
place where, and the seasons when God would be worshipped,
of the composition of the incense, or of the sacrifices — although
there may have been secondary and subordinate reasons for
them, depended in the first place and mainly upon God's appoint-
ment. " Him whom the Lord hath chosen will He cause to come
near unto Him " (xvi. 5) ; ^' whom the Lord doth choose, he
shall be holy" (ver. 7). Every other service, fire, or place
than that which God had chosen, would, however well and
earnestly intended, be "strange" service, "strange" fire, and a
*' strange " place. This was essential for the typical bearing of
all these arrangements. It was God's appointment, and not the
natural fitness of a person or thing which here came into con-
sideration. If otherwise, they would have been natural sequences,
not types — constituting a rational rather than a Divine service.
It was of the nature of a type that God should appoint the
earthly emblem with which He would connect the spiritual
reality. The moment Israel deviated in any detail, however
small, they not only rebelled against God's appointment, but
destroyed the meaning of the whole by substituting the human
and natural for the Divine. The types were, so to speak,
mirrors of God's own fitting, which exhibited, as already
present, future spiritual realities with all their blessings. In
Christ all such types have ceased, because the reality to which
they pointed has come.

This digression seemed necessary, alike for the proper under-
standing of the history of Korah and for that of the typical
arrangements of the Old Testament. But to return. On the
morning following the outbreak of the rebellion, Korah and
his two hundred and fifty associates presented themselves, as
Moses had proposed, at the door of the Tabernacle. Here
** they took every man his censer, and put fire in them, and
laid incense thereon." Indeed, Korah had gained such influence,
that he was now able to gather there " all the congregation "
as against Moses and Aaron. Almost had the wrath of God,

Jiidginejit tipon the Rebels. 179

Whose glory visibly appeared before all, consumea *' this con-
gregation " in a moment, when the intercession of Moses and
Aaron once more prevailed. In these words : " O God, the
God of the spirits of all flesh, shall one man sin, and wilt Thou
be wroth with all the congregation?" (as Calvin remarks)
Moses made his appeal "to the general grace of creation,"
l^raying that, "as God was the Creator and Maker of the
world, He would not destroy man whom He had created, but
rather have pity on the work of His hands." And so there is
a plea for mercy, and an unspeakable privilege even in the fact
of being the creatures of such a God !

Leaving the rebels with their censers at the door of the
Tabernacle — perhaps panic-struck — Moses next repaired to the
tents of Dathan and Abiram, accompanied by the elders, and
followed by the congregation.^ On the previous day the two
Reubenites had refused to meet Moses^ and sent him a
taunting reply, suggesting that he only intended to blind the
people.^ And now when Dathan and Abiram, with their
wives and children, came out and stood at the door of their
tents, as it were, to challenge what Moses could do, the people
were first solemnly warned away from them. Then a judg-
ment, new and unheard of, was announced, and immediately
executed. The earth opened her mouth and swallowed up
these rebels and their families, with all that appertained to
them, that is, with such as had taken part in their crime. As
for Korah, the same fate seems to have overtaken him. But
it is an emphatic testimony alike to the truth of God's de-
claration, that He punisheth not men for the sins of their
fathers,^ and to the piety of the Levites, that the sons of
Korah did not share in the rebellion of their father, and

* From Numb, xvi., and the reference in Numb. xxvi. lo, li, I am led
to infer that Korah followed also in the train, perhaps to see what would
come of it, leaving the two hundred and fifty princes at the door of the
Tabernacle. If Korah's tent was contiguous to those of Dathan and
Abiram, we can form a clearer conception of the whole scene.

^ Literally rendering xvi. 14 : " "Wilt thou put out the eyes of these men?"

' Jer. xxxi. 30; Ezek. xviii. 19, 20.

N 2

I So TJic Wanderings in the Wilderness,

consequently died not with him.^ More than this, not only
were Samuel and afterwards Heman descendants of Korah,^
but among them were some of those " sweet singers of Israel,"
whose hymns. Divinely inspired, were intended for the Church
at all times. And all the Psalms " of the sons of Korah "^ have
this common characteristic, which sounds like an echo of the
lesson learned from the solemn judgment upon their house,
that their burden is praise of the King Who is enthroned at
Jerusalem, and longing after the services of God's sanctuary.'*
But as for " the two hundred and fifty men that offered incense,"
" there came out a fire from the Lord and consumed" them,
as, on a former occasion, it had destroyed Nadab and Abihu.^
Their censers, which had been " hallowed," by being presented
before the Lord,*^ were converted into plates for covering the
altar of burnt offering, that so they might be a continual
"memorial unto the children of Israel" of the event and its
teaching.

This signal judgment of God upon the rebels had indeed
struck the people who witnessed it with sudden awe, but it led
not to that repentance "^ which results from a change of heart.
The impression passed away^ and " on the morrow " nothing
remained but the thought that so many princes of tribes, who
had sought to vindicate tribal independence, had been cut off"
for the sake of Moses ! It was in their cause, the people would
argue, that these men had died ; and the mourning in the tents
of the princes, the desolateness which marked what had but
yesterday been the habitations of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram,
would only give poignancy to the feeling that with this event
a yoke of bondage had been for ever riveted upon the nation.
For they recognised not the purpose and meaning of God ; this

* Numb. xxvi. ii. * I Sam, i. i ; i Chron. vi. 33-3S.

* Wrongly translated in the Authorised Version, " for the sons of Korah,"

* The following are the eleven Psalms designated as those of the sons of
Korah : Ps, xlii,, xliv.-xlix., Ixxxiv., Ixxxv,, Ixxxvii,, and Ixxxviii, The
following are further references to the history of the sons of Korah:
I Chron. ix, 19 ; xii. 6 ; xxvi, 1-19 ; 2 Chron, xx. 19 j Neh. xi, 19.

* Lev, X, 2, * Numb, xvi. 37. ^ Ps. iv. 4.

Great Type of Chrisfs Intercessioiu i8l

would have implied spiritual discernment ; only that, if judg-
ment had proceeded from Jehovah, it had come, if not at the
instigation of, yet in order to vindicate Moses and Aaron. In
their ingratitude they even forgot that, but for the intercession
of these two, the whole congregation would have perished in
the gainsaying of Korah. So truly did that generation prove
the justice of the Divine sentence that none of their number
should enter into the land of Canaan, and so entirely unfit did
their conduct (as of old that of Esau) show them for inheriting
the promises !

But as for Moses and Aaron, when the congregation was
once more gathered against them with this cruel and unjust
charge on their hps, " Ye have killed the people of Jehovah,"
they almost instinctively " faced towards the tent of meeting," ^
as the place whence their help came and to which their appeal
was now made. Nor did they look in vain. Denser and
more closely than before did the cloud cover the tabernacle,
and from out of it burst visibly the luminous glory of Jehovah.
And as Moses and Aaron entered the court of the tabernacle,
"Jehovah spake. unto Moses, saying. Get you up from among
this congregation, and I will consume them as in a moment.
And they fell upon their faces." But what was Moses to
plead? He knew that " already" was "wrath gone forth from
Jehovah," and "the plague" had "begun." What could he
now say? In the rebellion at Mount Horeb,^ again at
Kadesh,^ and but the day before at the gainsaying of Korah,
he had exhausted every argument. No similar plea, nor indeed
any plea, remained. Then it was, in the hour of deepest need,
when every argument that even faith could suggest had been
taken away, and Israel was, so to speak, lost^ that the all-suffi-
ciency of the Divine provision in its vicarious and mediatorial
character appeared. Although as yet only typical^ it proved all
sufficient. The incense kindled on the coals taken from the
altar of burnt-offering, where the sacrifices had been brought,

^ This is the literal rendering.
* Ex. xxxii. 31. ^ Namb. xiv. 13, etc.

1 82 TJte Wanderings m the Wilderness.

typified the accepted mediatorial intercession of our great
High-priest. And now, when there was absolutely no plea upon
earth, this typical pleading of His perfect righteousness and
intercession prevailed. Never before or after was the gospel
so preached under the Old Testament^ as when Aaron, at
Moses' direction, took the censer, and, having filled it from the
altar, " ran into the midst of the congregation," " and put on
incense, and made an atonement for the people " (xvi. 47).
And as he stood with that censer " between the dead and the
living," " the plague," which had already swept away not less
than 14,700 men, "was stayed." Thus if Korah's assumption
of the priestly functions had caused, the exercise of the typical
priesthood now removed, the plague.

But the truth which God now taught the people was not to
be exhibited only in judgment. After the storm and the
earthquake came the '' still, small voice," and the typical
import of the Aaronic priesthood was presented under a
beautiful symbol. By direction of God, " a rod " for each of
the twelve tribes, bearing the respective names of their princes,^
was laid up in the Most Holy Place, before the Ark of the
Covenant. And on the morrow, when Moses entered the
sanctuary^ "behold the rod of Aaron for the house of Levi
had budded, and brought forth buds, and bloomed blossoms,
and yielded almonds." The symbolical teaching of this was
plain. Each of these " rods " was a ruler's staflf, the emblem of
a tribe and its government. This was the natural position of

^ The only similar instance was the lifting up of the brazen serpent,
which typically represented another part of the work of our Redeemer. Even
the prophecies of Isaiah were not clearer than these two sermons by outward
deed, as we may call them — the one declaring the typical meaning of the
Aaronic priesthood, and the efficacy of that to which it pointed ; the other,
the character and the completeness of God's provision for the removal of
guilt.

^ According to the more common view, twelve rods were presented,
Ephraim and Manasseh being counted only one tribe, that of Joseph.
According to others, there were twelve rods, exclusively of that of Levi,
which bore the name of Aaron.

Aaron's Rod budding, blossoming, bearing Fruit. 183

all these princes of Israel. But theirs as well as Aaron's were
rods cut off from the parent-ste7n, and therefore incapable of
putting forth verdure, bearing blossom, or yielding fruit in the
sanctuary of God. By nature, then, there was absolutely no
difference between Aaron and the other princes; all were
equally incapable of the new life of fruitfulness. What dis-
tinguished Aaron's rod was the selection of God and the
miraculous gift bestowed upon it. And then, typically in the
old, but really in the new dispensation, that rod burst at the
same time into branches, into blossom, and even into fruit — all
these three combined, and all appearing at the same time.
And so these princes " took every man his rod ;" but Aaron's
rod was again brought before the Ark of the Covenant, and kept
there " for a token." ^ Nor was even the choice of the almond,
which blossoms first of trees, without its deep meaning. For
the almond, which bursts earliest into flower and fruit, is
called in Hebrew ^^ the waker'' {shaked^ comp. Jer. i. 11, 12).
Thus, as the '^ early waker," the Aaronic priesthood, with its
buds, blossoms, and fruit, was typical of the better priesthood,
when the Sun of Righteousness would rise " with healing in His
wings. "^

* Apparently, both the pot of manna and Aaron's rod were lost when the
ark returned from the Phihstine cities (see i Kings viii. 9). This loss also
was deeply significant — as it were, God's unspoken comment on the state of
Israel.

* The significance of the Levitical sections, as they follow upon Numb,
xvii., will be apparent to the attentive reader. But this is not the place to
enter further on the subject.

184 The Wanderings in the Wilderness,

CHAPTER XX.
%\\t §cfonb (Cathertng cf Israel in gn^esh— "^he §iu

^aron— Jl^trrat of Esracl from the borb^rs of (£iiom —
Jlttitfk bu the Canaanitish ging of Jlrai).

(Numb. xx. ; xxi. 1-3.)

IT was indeed most fitting that, at the end of the thirty-seven
years' wanderings, Israel should once more gather at
Kadesh. There they had been scattered, when the evil report
which the spies had brought led to their unbelief and re-
bellion ; and thence had the old generation carried, as it were,
its sentence of death back into the wilderness, till during these
long and weary years its full terms had been exhausted. And
now a new generation was once more at Kadesh. From the
very spot where the old was broken off was the fresh start to
be made. God is faithful to His purpose; He never breaks
off. If the old was interrupted, it had been by man's unbelief
and rebellion, not by failure on the part of God ; and when He
resumed His work, it was exactly where it had been so broken
off. And man also must return to where he has departed from
God, and to where sentence has been pronounced against him,
before he enters on his new journey to the Land of Promise.
But what solemn thoughts might not have been expected in
this new generation, as they once more stood ready to resume
their journeying on the spot where that of their fathers had
been arrested. As He had sanctified His Name in Kadesh by
judgment, would they now sanctify it by their faith and willing
obedience?

Besides Joshua and Caleb, to whom entrance into the land

Despondency and Rebellion at Kadesh, 185

had been specially promised, only three of the old generation
still remained. These were Miriam, Moses, and Aaron. And
now, just at the commencement of this fresh start, as if the
more solemnly to remind them of the past, Miriam, who had
led the hymn of thanksgiving and triumph on their first en-
tering the desert/ was taken away. Only Moses and Aaron
were now left — weary, wayworn pilgrims, to begin a new journey
with new pilgrims, who had to learn afresh the dealings of
Jehovah. And this may help us to understand what happened
at the very outset of their pilgrimage. Israel was in Kadesh,
or jather in the desert of Zin, the name Kadesh applying
probably to the whole district as well as to a special locality.
So large a number of people gathered in one place would
naturally soon sufter from want of water. Let it also be re-
membered, that that generation knew of the wonders of the
Lord chiefly by the hearing of the ear, but of His judgments by
what they had seen of death sweeping away all who had come
out of Egypt. In the hardness of their hearts it now seemed
to them as if the prospect before them were hopeless, and they
destined to suffer the same fate as their fathers. Something of
this unbelieving despair appears in their cry: "Would God
that we had died when our brethren died before Jehovah "^ —
that is, by Divine judgment, during these years of wandering.
The remembrance of the past with its disappointments seems
to find expression in their complaints (xx. 5). It is as if they
contrasted the stay of their nation in Egypt, and the hopes
awakened on leaving it, with the disappointment of seeing the
good land almost within their grasp, and then being turned
back to die in the wilderness ! And so the people broke forth
in rebellion against Moses and against Aaron.

Feelings similar to theirs seem to have taken hold even on
Moses and Aaron — only in a different direction. The people
despaired of success, and rebelled against Moses and Aaron.
With them as leaders they would never get possession of the
Land of Promise. On the other hand, Moses and x\aron also
* Ex. XV. 21. ^ TTumb. xx. 3.

1 86 The Wanderings in the Wilderness,

despaired of success, and rebelled, as it were, against the
people. Such an unbelieving people, rebelling at the very
outset, would never be allowed to enter the land. The people
felt as if the prospect before them were hopeless, and so did
Moses and Aaron, although on opposite grounds. As we
have said, the people rebelled against Moses and Aaron, and
Moses and Aaron against the people. But at bottom, the
ground of despair and of rebellion, both on the part of the
people and of Moses, was precisely the same. In both cases
it was really unbelief of God. The people had looked upon
Moses and not upon God as their leader into the land, and
they had despaired. Moses looked at the people as they were
in themselves, instead of thinking of God Who now sent them
forward, secure in His promise, which He would assuredly
fulfil. This soon appeared in the conduct and language of
Moses. By Divine direction he was to stand in sight of the
people at " the rock before their eyes " with " the rod from
before Jehovah" — no doubt the same with which the miracles
had been wrought in Egypt, and under whose stroke water
had once before sprung from the rock at Rephidim.^

It is generally thought that the sin of Moses, in which
Aaron shared, consisted in his striking the rock — and doing
so twice — instead of merely speaking to it, "and it shall
give forth its water;" and also, in the hasty and improper
language which he used on the occasion: "Hear now, ye
rebels, must we fetch you water out of this rock ?" ^ But it
seems difficult to accept this view. On the one hand, we can
scarcely imagine that unbelief should have led Moses to strike,
rather than to speak to the rock, as if the former would have

* Ex. xvii. 6.

' The great Rabbinical interpreter Rashi accounts for the twice striking;
by supposing that Moses went to the wrong rock, when, at the first stroke,
only a few drops came, but at the second abundance of water. Pie finds
the sin of Moses in his striking instead of speaking, since the people would,
in the latter case, have argued — If the rock which neither speaks, hears,
nor needs nourishment, obeys the voice of God, how much more are we
bound so to do. The Jerusalem Targum has it, that at the first stroke blood
came from the rock.

The Sin of Moses and Aaron, 187

been more efficacious than the latter. On the other hand, it
seems strange that Moses should have been directed to " take
the rod," if he were not to have used it, the more so as this
had been the Divinely sanctioned mode of proceeding at
Rephidim.^ Lastly, how, in that case, could Aaron have been
implicated in the sin of Moses ? Of course, the striking the
rock twice vf3.?,, as we read in Psalm cvi. 32, 2,3^ evidence that
they had " angered " Moses, and that " his spirit was provoked."
This also showed itself in his language, which Scripture thus
characterises : " he spake unadvisedly with his lips " — or, as
the word literally means, "he babbled." ^ Be it observed,
that Moses is not anywhere in Scripture blamed for striking
instead of speaking to the rock, while it is expressly stated
that the people " angered him also at the waters of strife, so
that it went ill with Moses for their sakes."

The other aspect of the sin of Moses was afterwards ex-
pressly stated by the Lord Himself, when He pronounced on
Moses and Aaron the sentence that they should not "bring
this congregation into the land," which He had given them,
on this ground : " Because ye believed Me not, to sanctify Me
in the eyes of the children of Israel" (xx. 12). Thus in their
rebellion against Moses and Aaron, the people had not believed
that Jehovah would bring them into the land which He had
given them; while, in their anger at the people, Moses and
Aaron had not believed God, to sanctify Him in His power
and grace in the eyes of the children of Israel. Israel failed
as the people of God ; Moses as their mediator. Hitherto
Moses had, under every provocation, been faithful as a steward
over his charge, and pleaded with God and prevailed, because
he believed. Now for the first time Moses failed, as we all
fail, through unbelief, looking at the sin of the people, and
thence inferring the impossibility of their inheriting the pro-
mises, instead of looking at the grace and power of God which

* Ex. xvii. 6.

* The word, whether written bata or bada^ means to talk foolishly, or
rashly, to babble^ also to boast.

1 88 The W under in;rs in the Wilderness.

<b"

made all things possible, and at the certainty of the promise.
Unlike Abraham in similar circumstances, " he staggered at the
promises." And having through unbelief failed as mediator of
the people, his office was to cease, and the conduct of Israel
into the land to devolve upon another.

It is only in this sense that we can accept the common
statement, that the sin of Moses was oJ9da/ rather \hdiX\ personal.
For these two — office or work, and person — cannot be separated
either as regards responsibility or duty. Rather would we think
of Moses and Aaron as aged pilgrims, worn with the long way
through the wilderness, and footsore with its roughnesses and
stones, whose strength momentarily failed when the weary
journey was once more resumed, and who in their weariness
stumbled at the rock of offence. Yet few events possess deeper
pathos than this " babbling " at the waters of Meribah. Its
true parallel is found not in the Old but in the New Testament.
It is tme that, in similar circumstances, Elijah also despaired
of Israel, and was directed to " the mount of God," there to learn
the same lesson as Moses — before, like him, he was unclothed of
his office. But the full counterpart to the temptation of Moses
is presented in the history of John the Baptist, when doubting,
not the Person but the mode of working of the Messiah, and
despairing, from what he saw and heard, of the fulfilment of
the promise at that time and among that generation, he sent
his disciples on that memorable embassy, just before he also
was unclothed of his office. This is not the place to follow
the subject further. Suffice it to point out, on the one hand,
Moses, Elijah, John the Baptist, and, on the other, Joshua,
Elisha, and our blessed Lord, as the types and antitypes pre-
sented to us in Scripture.

Before leaving Kadesh, Moses sent messengers to the king
of Edom, and also, as we learn from Judges xi. 17, to the king
of Moab,^ whose dominions lay on the north of Edom, asking

* The reply of the king of Moab is not mentioned in Scripture, because,
upon the refusal of Edom, even his permission would have been of no use,
as the road to Moab lay through Edom.

The Locality of Moiint Hoi'. 189

permission for Israel to pass through their countries. A glance
at the map will show that this would have been the most direct
route, if Palestine was to be entered from the other side Jordan
at Jericho. Certainly it was the easiest route, as it avoided
contact with those who held the Negeb, or south country,
who thirty-seven years before had met Israel in hostile con-
flict and signally defeated them.^ But in vain Moses urged
upon Edom the claims of national kinship, Israel's past suffer-
ings in Egypt, and their marvellous deliverance and guidance
by The Angel of Jehovah. In vain also did he limit his
request to permission to use the ordinary caravan road — " the
king's highway" — without straying either to the right or the
left, adding the promise of payment for the use of the wells. ^
The children of Esau not only absolutely refused, but hastily
gathered an army of observation on their borders. Meantime,
while the messengers of Moses had gone on their embassy, the
camp of Israel had moved forward to what may be described
as " the uttermost of the border " of Edom. A day's journey
eastward from Kadesh, through the wide and broad Wady
Murreh, suddenly rises a remarkable mountain, quite isolated
and prominent, which Canon Williams describes as " singularly
formed," and the late Professor Robinson likens to "a lofty
citadel." Its present name Moderah preserves the ancient
Biblical Moserah^ which, from a comparison of Numb. xx. 22-29
with Deut. x. 6, we know to have been only another desig-
nation for Mount Hor. In fact, " Mount Hor " or Hor-ha-Hor
(" mountain, the mountain ") just means " the remarkable moun-
tain." This was the natural route for Israel to take, if they
hoped to pass through Edom by the king's highway — the
present Wady Ghuweir, — which would have led them by way
of Moab, easily and straight, to the other side of Jordan. It
was natural for them here to halt and await the reply of the
king of Edom. For while Moderah lies at the very boundary,
but still outside Edom, it is also at the entrance to the various
wddies or roads, which thence open east, south, and south-west,

^ Numb. xiv. 44, 45. 2 ^umb. xx. 14-17.

1 90 TJic Wanderings in the Wilderness.

so that the children of Israel might thence take any route
which circumstances would indicate. Moreover, from the
height of Moderah they would be able to observe any hostile
movement that might be directed against them, whether
from the east by Edom, or from the north and west by the
Amalekites and Canaanites. From what has been said, it
will be gathered that we regard this as the Mount Hor where
Aaron died.^

Thus speedily, within a day's journey of the place of his sin,
was the Divine sentence upon Aaron executed. There is a
solemn grandeur about this narrative, befitting the occasion
and in accordance with the locality. In the sight of all the con-

' The traditional site for Mount Hor is Jebel Harun, close by Petra, the
capital of Edom. To state is already to refute a supposition which implies
that Israel had asked leave to pass through Edom, and then, without await-
ing the reply, marched into the heart of Edom, and camped for thirty days
close by its capital ! Moreover, it is difficult to understand what could
have been the object of going so far south, if Israel hoped — as at the time
they did — to strike through the nearest practicable wady, the road that led
northward through Edom and Moab to the ford of Jordan. In that case
Jebel Harun would have been far out of their way. Finally, it is im-
possible to arrange the chronological succession of events as given in the
Bible, except on the supposition that Moderah was Mount Hor. For, if
the camp of Israel had been near Petra, there could have been no reason
for the king of Arad to dread their forcing their way through his territory
(Numb. xxi. i), even as it seems most unlikely that he should have
marched so far south-east as Petra to attack Israel. Accordingly, interpre-
ters who regard Jebel Harun as Mount Hor are obliged to suppose that the
attack of the king of Arad had taken place earlier, say, at the period indi-
cated in Numb. xx. 22. But in that case it is difficult to imagine how the
king could have heard that Israel was "coming by the way of the spies,*'
seeing they were taking exactly the opposite direction, and had just re-
quested permission to pass through Edom. Against these weighty reasons
we have only the authority of tradition in favour of Harun, On the
other hand, all becomes plain, and easily understood, if we regard Moderah
as Mount Hor ; and the whole narrative in its chronological succession in
Scripture is just what we should have expected. The reader who wishes
further information is referred to the admirable work of the late Rev. E.
Wilton on The Negeb^ or South Country of Scripture (pp. 1 26-1 34), and
to the excellent map attached to it.

Death of Aarojt. 191

gregation these three, Moses, Aaron, and Eleazar, went up the
mount. In his full priestly dress walked Aaron to his burial.
He knew it, and so did all in that camp, who now, for the
last time, reverently and silently looked upon the venerable
figure of him who, these forty years, had ministered unto them
in holy things.^ There was no farewell. In that typical
priesthood all depended on the unbroken continuance of the
office, not of the person. And hence on that mountain-top
Aaron was first unclothed of his priestly robes, and Eleazar, his
son, formally invested with them. Thus the priesthood had
not for a moment ceased when Aaron died. Then, not as a
priest but simply as one of God's Israel, was he "gathered
unto his people." But over that which passed between the
three on the mount has the hand of God drawn the veil of
silence. And so the new priest, Eleazar, came down from the
solemn scene on Mount Hor to minister amidst a hushed and
awe-stricken congregation. "And when all the congregation
saw that Aaron was dead, they mourned for Aaron thirty
days, even all the house of Israel."

Serious tidings were now in store for Israel. The mes-
sengers returned from Edom bringing absolute refusal to the
request of passage through that country. Not only so, but the
large army of Edom was assembling on the frontier, close to
the camping-ground of Israel. If, according to the Divine
command, Edom was not to be attacked, then Israel must
rapidly retreat. The ordinary route from Mount Hor "to
compass the land of Edom," so as to advance northwards, by
the east of Edom, would have led Israel straight down by the
Wddy El-Jeib, and so through the northern part of the Arabah.
But this route touched the western boundary of Edom, just
where, as we gather from the Scriptural narrative, the army of
Edom was echeloned. To avoid them, it became therefore
necessary, in the first place, to retrace their steps again through

* According to Numb, xxxiii. 37, etc., Aaron died on the first day of the
fifth month of the fortieth year after the Exodus, and at the age of one
liundred and twenty-three years.

192 The Wanderings in the Wilderness.

part of the Wddy Murreh, in order thence to strike in a south-
easterly direction through what are now known as " the moun-
tains of the 'Azazimeh," the ancient dukedom of Teman, or
Mount Paran. By this detour Israel would strike the Arabah
far south of where the army of Edom awaited them, passing
through the modern Wddies Ghudhaghidh and 'Adbeh. In
point of fact, we learn from Deut. x. 7 that Gudgodah and
Jotbath were the two stations reached next after the retreat
from Mount Hor. But just at the point where the host of
Israel would turn southwards from Wady Murreh, they were
also in almost a straight line for the territory of the king of
Arad. Of course, he would be informed that Israel had been
refused a passage through Edom, and, finding them on the
flank of his territory, would naturally imagine that they in-
tended to invade it. "And the Canaanitish king of Arad,
which dwelt in the Negeb " ^ (or south country), " heard tell that
Israel came by the way of the spies " (or, more probably, *' the
way of the merchants," the caravan road);- "then he fought
against Israel, and took of them prisoners " — having probably
fallen on their rearguard. The event is mentioned for this
twofold reason : to show the unprovoked enmity of Canaan
against Israel, and the faithfulness of God. For Israel at that
time "vowed a vow" utterly to destroy the cities of the
Canaanites. And God hearkened and heard. Many years
afterwards He gave the prayed-for victory,^ when the name of
Hormah or ban — utter destruction — given in prophetic anti-
cipation of God's faithfulness, became a reaUty.*

^ So literally. Arad is the modern Tell Arad, about twenty miles south
of Hebron. So tenaciously do names cling to localities in the East.

* So Mr. Wilton rightly renders it, and not "the way of the spies,"
t.e.y of the twelve men who had, thirty-eight yeai's before, gone up to spy the
land. Others translate, "the beaten track."

' Judges i. 17.

* Some commentators imagine that even at the first a great victory had
been gained by the Israelites over the Canaanites. But the supposition is
incompatible alike with the narrative and witli other portions of Scripture.

193

CHAPTER XXI.

Journeg of the OThiliircn ot Israel in " ramp^assing " t'tje
lanb of ^Dom— ^he " Jfieru gerp^eitts " anb the " ^rasen
^er^rent "—Israel enters the lanb oi the <^morites —
Victories ober ^Sihon anb xjtoer ®ij, the kings of the
^morites anb of ^ashan — Israel eamps in " the loto-
lanbs of JKoab/' dose bg the Jorban.

(Numb. xxr. 3-35 ; xxxiii. 35-49; Deut. ii.-ni. 11.)

THE opposition of Edom and the unprovoked attack of the
Canaanite king of Arad must have convinced Israel
that the most serious difficulties of their march had now com-
menced. It was quite natural that, during the thirty-eight
years when they were scattered up and down in the Sinaitic
peninsula, their powerful neighbours should have left them
unmolested, as the wandering Bedawin are at this day.^ But
when Israel again gathered together and moved forward as a
host, then the tidings of the marvellous things which God had
done for them, communicated with all the circumstantiality
common in the east, would excite mingled terror and a determin-
ation to resist them. The latter probably first ; the former as
resistance was seen to be vain, and the God of Israel reaUsed
as stronger than all other national deities. Eastern idolaters
would naturally thus reason ; and the knowledge of this will
help our understanding of the Scriptural narrative.

The general direction of Israel's march, in order to ''compass"
the land of Edom, was first to the head of the Elanitlc Gulf of
the Red Sea, or the Gulf of 'Akabah. Thence they would, a

* This is well brought out iu Palmer's Desert of the Exodus^ Part ii.,
pp. 517, etc.

194 ^-^^^ Wanderings in the Wilderness.

few hours north of Ezion-gaber (the giant's backbone), enter
the mountains, and then pass northwards, marching to Moab
" by the road which runs between Edom and the hmestone
plateau of the great eastern desert"^ (comp. Deut. ii. 8). Pro-
bably they were prepared to contend for every fresh advance
which they made northwards. But the first part of their journey
was otherwise trying. That deep depression of the Arabah
through which they marched — intensely hot, bare of vegeta-
tion, desolate, rough, and visited by terrible sandstorms — was
pre-eminently " that great and terrible wilderness." of which
Moses afterwards reminded the people.^ What with the weari-
ness of the way, the want of water, and of all food other than
the manna, " the soul of the people was much discouraged,"
" and the people spake against God and against Moses." The
judgment of " fiery serpents " which the Lord, " in punish-
ment, sent among the people," and of which so many died,
bore a marked resemblance to all His former dealings. Once
more He did not create a new thing for the execution of
His purpose, but only disposed sovereignly of what already
existed. Travellers give remarkable confirmation and illustra-
tions of the number and poisonous character of the serpents in
that district.^ Thus one writes of the neighbourhood of the
gulf : " The sand on the shore showed traces of snakes on
every hand. They had crawled there in various directions.
Some of the marks appeared to have been made by animals
which could not have been less than two inches in diameter.
My guide told me that snakes were very common in these
regions." Another traveller on exactly the route of the children
of Israel states : " In the afternoon a large and very mottled
snake was brought to us, marked with fiery spots and spiral
lines, which evidently belonged, from the formation of its teeth,

to one of the most poisonous species The Bedouins say

that these snakes, of which they have great dread, are very

' Desert of the Exodus, vol. ii. p. 523. ^ Deut. i. 19.

' For many and very apt Scripture illustrations we would here refer to
Mr. Wilton's Negeb^ p. 47, etc.

The Type of the Brazen Serpent. 195

numerous in this locality."^ From the fact that the brazen
serpent is also called ^'- fiery'' (a Sarapk), we infer that the
expression describes rather the appearance of these "fire-snakes"
than the effect of their bite.

Two things are most marked in this history — the speedy
repentance of Israel, couched in unwonted language of
humility,^ and the marvellous teaching of the symbol, through
which those who had been mortally bitten were granted restora-
tion to life and health. Moses was directed to make a fiery
serpent of brass, and to set it upon a pole, and whosoever
looked upon it was immediately healed. From the teaching of
our Lord^ we know that this was a direct type of the lifting up
of the Son of Man, **that whosoever believeth in Him should not
perish, but have eternal life." The simplicity of the remedy —
only to look up in faith, its iminediateness and its completeness^
as well as the fact that this was the only but also the all-suffi-
cie?it remedy for the deadly wound of the serpent — all find their
counterpart in the Gospel. But for the proper understanding
both of the type and of the words of our Lord, we must inquire
in what manner Israel would view and understand the lifting
up of the brazen serpent and the healing that flowed from it
Undoubtedly, Israel would at once connect this death through
the fiery serpents with the introduction of death into Paradise
through the serpent* And now a brazen serpent was lifted up,
made in the likeness of the fiery serpent, yet without its poisonous
bite. And this was for the healing of Israel. Clearly then, the
deadly poison of the fiery serpent was removed in the uplifted
brazen serpent ! All this would carry back the mind to the
promise given when first the poisonous sting of the serpent was
felt, that the Seed of the Woman should bruise the head of the
serpent, and that in so doing His own heel should be bruised.
In this sense even the apocryphal Book of Wisdom (xvi. 6)

^ Kurtz' History of the Old Covenant^ vol. iii. pp. 343, 344, English
translation.

- Numb. xxi. 7. ^ John iii. 14, 15.

* Both the Jerusalem and the Jonathan Targum contain an allusion to
this.

196 The Wanderings in the Wilderness.

designates the brazen serpent " a symbol of salvation." And
so we are clearly taught that " God sending His own Son in
the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin ifi the
flesh ;''^ that " He hath made Him to be sin for us, who knew
no sin ;"- and that " His own self bare our sins in His own
body on the tree."^ The precious meaning of the type is thus
deduced by Luther from the three grand peculiarities of this
" symbol of salvation :" " First, the serpent which Moses made
at the command of God had to be of brass or copper, that is,
red, and like those fiery serpents, which were red, and burning
in their bite — yet without poison. Secondly, the brazen serpent
had to be set up on a pole for a sign " (comp. Col. ii. 14, etc.).
" Thirdly, those who would be healed of the fiery serpents' bite
must look up to the brazen serpent, lifted up on the pole ''
(perceive, and believe), " else they could not recover nor live."
Similarly a modern German critic thus annotates John iii. 14 :
" Christ is the antitype of this serpent, inasmuch as He took
upon Himself and vicariously bore sin, the most noxious of all
noxious powers."

It is of the deepest interest to follow the march of the children
of Israel, when every day's journey brought them nearer to the
Land of Promise as their goal. To them it was not, as to us,
a land of ruins and of memories, but of beauty and of hope.
To a people who had all their lives seen and known nothing
but " the wilderness," the richness, fertility, and varied beauty
of Palestine, as it then was, must have possessed charms such
as we can scarcely imagine. Then every step in advance was,
so to speak, under the direct leading of God, and, in a sense, a
miracle, while every such leading and miracle was itself a pledge
of others yet to follow. The researches of modern travellers *

* Rom. viii. 3. "2 Cor. v. 21. ^ i Pet. ii. 24.

* We cannot, of course, here enter on a description of these localities
as illustrative of the Bible, however interesting the subject. For further
information we direct the reader, besides the works of Professor Robinson,
Canon Williams, Mr. Wilton, and Professor Palmer, to Canon Tristram's
Land of Moal>, as specially illustrative of this part of our history.

The Route of Israel, 197

enable us almost to company with Israel on this their march.
As already stated, the wonderful tenacity with which old names
keep their hold in the far East helps us to discover the exact
spots of Biblical scenes ; while, on the other hand, descriptions
of the localities throw most vivid light on the Scriptural narra-
tives, and afford evidence of their trustworthiness.

The reader ought to remember that the route which lay
before Israel was in part the same as that still traversed
by the great caravans from Damascus to Mecca. The terri-
tories which they successively passed or entered were occupied
as follows. First, Israel skirted along the eastern boundary of
Edom, leaving it on their left. The western boundary of Edom,
through which Israel had sought a passage when starting
from Kadesh,^ would from its mountainous character and few
passes have been easily defended against the Israelites. But
it was otherwise with the eastern line of frontier, which lay
open to Israel^ had they not been Divinely directed not to
fight against Edom.^ This, however, explains the friendly
attitude which the Edomites found it prudent to adopt along their
eastern frontier,^ although their army had shortly before been
prepared to fight on the western. At Ije Abariin^^ " the ruins,"
or "the hills of the passages," or "of the sides" — perhaps "the
lateral hills" — the Israelites were approaching the wilderness
which lay to the east of Moab. The brook or Wady Zared^
here forms the boundary between Edom and Moab. But as
Israel had been also commanded not to fight against Moab,®
they left their territory equally untouched, and, continuing
straight northwards, passed through the wilderness of Moab,
till they reached the river Arnon, the modern Wady Mojib,
which formed the boundary between the Moabites and the
Amorites. The territory of the Amorites stretched from the
Arnon to the Jabbok. It had originally belonged to the

^ Numb. XX. 18. 2 Deut. ii. 4-6, ^ Deut. ii. 29.

* There is reason to suppose that Abarim, or "passages," was a
generic name for the mountains which bordered the territory of Moab.
* Numb. xxi. 12. *^ Deut. ii. 9.

19S The Wanderings in the Wilderness.

Moabitesj^ but they had been driven southwards by the
Amorites. No command of God prevented Israel from warring
against the Amorites, and when Sihon, their king, refused to
give them a free passage through his territory, they were Divinely
directed to that attack which issued in the destruction of Sihon,
and the possession of his land by Israel.

At the brook Zared — on the southern boundary of Moab —
the Israelites had already been in a line with the Dead Sea,
leaving it, of course, far on their left. The river Amon also,
which formed the boundary between Moab and the Amorites,
flows into the Dead Sea almost opposite to Hazazon-tamar, or
En-gedi. This tract, which now bears the name of el-Belkah,
is known to the reader of the Old Testament as the land of
Gilead, while in New Testament times it formed the province
of Ferea. Lastly, the district north of the Jabbok and east of
the Jordan was the ancient Bashan, or the modern Hauran.
The fact that the country north of the Amon had, before its
possession by the Amorites, been so long held by Moab explains
the name "Fields of Moab" (rendered in the Authorised Version
" country of Moab," Numbers xxi. 20) as applied to the upland
hills of Gilead, just as the western side of Jordan similarly bore
the name of " the plains of Moab," or rather " the lowlands of
Moab."^ The children of Israel were still camped on the south
side of the Amon when they sent the embassy to Sihon,
demanding a passage through his territory. Canon Tristram
has given a most vivid description of the rift through which the
Amon flows. Its width is calculated at about three miles from
crest to crest, and its depth at 2150 feet from the top of the
southern, and at 1950 from that of the northern bank. Of
course, the army of Israel could not have passed the river
here, but higher up, to the east, " in the wilderness.'"^ They
probably waited till the messengers returned from Sihon. How
high their courage and confidence in God had risen, when
tidings arrived that Sihon with all his army was coming to
meet them, appears even from those extracts of poetic pieces
^ Numb. xxi. 26. ^ Numb. xxii. i.

First View of the Land. 199

which form so marked a pecuUarity of the Book of Numbers,
and which read Uke stanzas of war-songs by the camp-fires.^
From the banks of the Amon the route of Israel was no doubt
northward till they reached Bainoth or Bamoth Baal, "the
heights of Baal,"'^ one of the stations afterwards taken up by
Balak and Balaam.^ " And from Bamoth (they marched) to
the valley, which is in the fields of Moab (on the plateau of
Moab), on the height of Pisgah, and looks over to the face of
the wilderness,"* that is, over the tract of land which extends
to the north-eastern shore of the Dead Sea.^

From this plateau o^ the mountains of the Abarim, of which
Pisgah and Nebo were peaks, Israel had its first view of the
Land of Promise, and especially of that mysterious Sea of 'Salt
whose glittering surface and deathlike surroundings would re-
call such solemn memories and warnings. At last then the
goal was in view ! The decisive battle between Sihon and
Israel was fought almost within sight of the Dead Sea. The
\ictory at Jahaz, in which Sihon was smitten " with the edge
of the sword " — that is, without quarter or sparing, — gave Israel
possession of the whole country, including Heshbon and " ail
the daughters thereof" — or daughter-towns, — from the Arnon
to the upper Jabbok (the modern Nahr Amman). The latter
river formed the boundary between the Amorites and the
Ammonites. Beyond this the Amorites had not penetrated,
because " the border of the children of Ammon was strong."*^
And Israel also forbore to penetrate farther, not on the same
ground as the Amorites, but because of an express command
of God."^ Leaving untouched therefore the country of Ammon,
the Israelites next moved northward, defeated Og, king of

^ Not less than three of these "songs" are quoted in Numb. xxi.
We cannot here refer further to these deeply interesting compositions.
Similarly, it is impossible to enter into fuller geographical details, or to
compare the list of stations in Numb. xxi. with that in chap, xxxiii. and
in Deut. ii. But the most perfect harmony prevails between them.
2 Numb. xxi. 19. ' Numb. xxii. 41.

* So literally. * Numlx xxi. 20.

* Numb. xxi. 24. ^ Deut. ii. 19.

200 The Wander in <rs in the Wilderness

d>"

Bashan, and took possession of his territory also, and of the
mountains of Gilead.^ The whole country east of the Jordan
was now Israel's, and the passage of that river could not be
disputed.

Before actually entering upon their long-promised inherit-
ance, some great lessons had, indeed, yet to be learned. An
event would take place which would for ever mark the relation
between the kingdom of God and that of this world. The
mission of Moses, the servant of the Lord, must also come to
an end, and the needful arrangements be made for possessing
and holding the land of Palestine. But all these belong,
strictly speaking, to another period of Israel's history. WTien
the camp was pitched in Shittitn, "on this side Jordan by
Jericho," waiting for the signal to cross the boundary-line, the
wanderings of the children of Israel were really at an end.

^ These territories and their ancient sites have of late been visited and
described by such travellers as Canon Tristram, Professor Palmer, and
others.

LONDON : PRINTHD FY WILLIAM CLOWKS AND SONS, STAMFORD STRF'CT
AND CHARING CROSS.

Date Due

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